Suspension: Court Did Not Order Senator Natasha’s Recall, Says Legal Practitioner
A legal practitioner, Ekemini Udim, has faulted Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s attempt to resume at the Senate, claiming the court verdict on the matter did not order the lifting of the suspension on the Kogi Central lawmaker.
“It is very clear: my Lord has not said, ‘Recall Senator Natasha’. What the judge said was that, ‘You cannot do like this, you cannot do like that,’ and then makes a recommendation to the Senate, and says, ‘Senate, think of how you can amend your rules. ’
“You cannot equate that to say, ‘Recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’,” the lawyer said on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
“And therefore, anybody who is interpreting the judgment to the extent that the judge ordered the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is not doing justice to that judgment.”
On Tuesday, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who had been suspended since March, attempted to resume sitting at the National Assembly, claiming a court judgment mandated the Senate to recall her.
However, the Kogi Central lawmaker, who was accompanied by her teeming supporters, was denied entry after several attempts to do so.
Addressing newsmen after that, the lawmaker, who was suspended for six months, expressed displeasure over the matter. The senator said she would consult her legal team for the next step.
Udim agreed with that, saying that the matter should be looked at legally and not from an “emotional angle,” which he believes does not help the senator.
“A lot of people are taking this matter from the emotional angle, and it becomes a problem when you do that.
“And this is not good for Senator Natasha. This must be taken from the angle of law,” he said.
In March, the Senate suspended the Kogi lawmaker for six months for violating its rules amid Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations of sexual harassment against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
She challenged the matter in court, asking it to declare her suspension illegal.
A few weeks ago, the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled on the matter, which many believed had asked the Senate to recall her.
The Senate President is appealing the matter with the lawmakers insisting that the court only recommended her recall, contrary to the widely-held belief that the Senate was mandated to lift her suspension.
READ ALSO: Senate Removes Natasha As Diaspora Committee Chair
It asked her to steer clear of the National Assembly, but on Tuesday, Senator Akpabio-Uduaghan came to the Assembly complex, arguing that the court had asked her to resume.
Following her failed attempt, the Senate spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu, defended her denial of entry.
Adaramodu, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, insisted that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan remained suspended and could not resume legislative duties.
