Tensions flared at the National Assembly on Monday as suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) was denied entry by security operatives, despite presenting a court ruling that nullified her six-month suspension from the Senate.
Backed by supporters and waving a certified true copy of a July 4 judgment delivered by Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Akpoti-Uduaghan attempted to resume legislative duties but was blocked at the gates by armed personnel from the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the sergeant-at-arms.
Speaking to reporters outside the barricaded entrance, the embattled lawmaker accused the Senate leadership of flouting constitutional order. “This is not democracy. This is tyranny in agbada,” she declared. “I am unarmed and accompanied by peaceful citizens, yet I am met with rifles and barricades.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended in March 2025 over allegations of gross misconduct. However, Justice Nyako ruled that her suspension violated Section 63 of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates that a legislator cannot be suspended for more than one-third of the legislative calendar.
Legal analysts argue that under Section 287(3) of the Constitution, all arms of government, including the legislature, are bound to comply with court orders. Akpoti-Uduaghan said she formally notified the Senate of her intent to resume, but was blocked allegedly on the orders of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
In response, the Senate maintains that there is no subsisting court directive compelling her reinstatement. Critics also questioned her conduct, noting that she had appealed the same judgment she was now seeking to enforce.
Senior legal practitioner, Ken Harries, described her action as a contradiction, accusing her of attempting to “eat her cake and have it.” He said: “In my years of practice, I’ve never seen such a brazen attempt to enforce a judgment while simultaneously appealing it.”
Harries questioned the legality of her presence at the Assembly complex with a crowd of supporters, describing it as a “crisis atmosphere” unbecoming of a federal lawmaker. “There are established procedures for enforcing court judgments. This was clearly not one of them,” he added.
As the standoff continues, the controversy has rekindled debates over legislative overreach, separation of powers, and the sanctity of court judgments in Nigeria’s democratic process.
