ABUJA—The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Kaduna State Commissioner of Justice and Attorney-General, Mark Jacobs, have called on the Senate to immediately reinstate Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central, following the expiration of her six-month suspension.
They cautioned that blocking her return would further weaken Nigeria’s democratic institutions and discourage women from active political participation.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC described the Senate’s refusal to allow Akpoti-Uduaghan back into the chamber as “illegal, immoral, and malicious.” The party argued that the suspension, having been imposed internally by the Senate and not through a judicial process, had run its course and no longer provided any justification for barring her from legislative duties.
“The African Democratic Congress, ADC, observes with deep concern the continued obstruction of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from resuming her seat in the Nigerian Senate after the completion of her six-month suspension. We consider this development not only malicious, but also deeply injurious to the spirit of our constitutional democracy, especially the right to dissent,” Abdullahi said.
Supporting this position, Mark Jacobs, speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, stressed that Akpoti-Uduaghan does not require a court’s final ruling to take her seat, since her suspension period had already elapsed.
“What I see is a further display of impunity gone wild. The Senate has always insisted that nobody, including the courts, should interfere with its constitutional powers to discipline members. Yet, the same Senate suspended this woman for six months, and when those six months expired, there should be no confusion; she should have been allowed to resume her seat,” Jacobs stated.
He further accused the Senate of operating double standards, pointing out that a court had previously ruled her suspension unconstitutional. According to him, the leadership of the Senate has been frustrating judicial processes through endless objections and technical filings instead of allowing the substantive case to be heard.
“They keep filing one objection or the other to make sure we don’t get to a hearing. If they believe they have evidence against her, let the matter proceed in court. But you can’t keep the case stalled and at the same time deny her return after the suspension period has lapsed,” Jacobs added.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended in March for allegedly breaching Senate rules. She challenged the action in court in July and made an attempt to return to the Senate, but was prevented from doing so despite the expiration of the suspension period.
