Court stops Nigerian Senate from probing Senator Natasha

A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order restraining the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions from proceeding with any disciplinary action against the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The ruling, made by Justice Obiora Egwuatu on Tuesday, followed an ex parte application filed by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team.
The incident at the center of the case occurred on February 20, when Akpoti-Uduaghan had a confrontation with Senate President Godswill Akpabio over seat allocation. She rejected the seat assigned to her and openly defied Akpabio’s directive. Additionally, despite being overruled, she repeatedly raised points of order.
Senator Yemi Adaramodu, representing Ekiti Central, later stated that the episode had damaged the Senate’s reputation. He further pointed out that efforts to clarify the situation had proven ineffective, as the public had already formed an opinion based on the Kogi lawmaker’s actions.
In response to the incident, the Senate referred Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Ethics Committee for disciplinary review. This decision was made last Tuesday during plenary, after the Senate considered and adopted a report presented by Adaramodu.
During a voice vote conducted by Senate President Akpabio, Senators unanimously agreed that the matter should be referred to the committee, which has been tasked with reviewing the incident and reporting back to the Senate.