The Nigerian Senate has formally declined a request from Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to return to her legislative duties, asserting that her six-month suspension remains firmly in effect.
The decision was communicated in a letter from the Acting Clerk to the National Assembly, Dr. Yahaya Danzaria, which was issued in response to the senator’s notification of her intent to resume work on September 4, 2025.
The Senate’s correspondence clarified that the suspension period, which began on March 6, 2025, has not yet concluded. More significantly, the upper legislative chamber emphasised that the entire matter is currently classified as sub judice, a legal term meaning it is actively under judicial consideration and therefore not subject to public or administrative interference.
The case is presently before the Court of Appeal, following Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s challenge of a prior Federal High Court ruling in Abuja that had upheld the Senate’s decision to suspend her.
Consequently, the Senate stated that it is legally restrained from taking any administrative action that would allow her to resume her duties until the judicial process is fully complete.
The letter explicitly noted that the Senate will only consider reviewing her suspension after the Court of Appeal has delivered its final judgment on the case. Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents the Kogi Central Senatorial District, was initially suspended in March after the Senate accused her of violating its established standing orders.
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cc: Daily Post NG
