Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan on Tuesday resumed at the National Assembly, days after a court nullified her suspension and her previously sealed office was reopened.
The senator, who had been suspended for about six months, marched from a trial court in Abuja with hundreds of supporters to the National Assembly complex. They passed through the main gate with ease but met resistance at the second entrance, popularly known as Nupo Gate, where police officers and soldiers attempted to stop them.
Eventually, Akpoti-Uduaghan was allowed in, alongside a few supporters, while others occupied the citizens’ arena after being denied access. She proceeded straight to her office, Suite 205, which had been unsealed earlier in the day under the supervision of the Office of the Serjeant-at-Arms and security operatives.
Addressing journalists, the senator reflected on her ordeal in the past six months, describing it as politically motivated and marred by blackmail. She said, “From the unjust suspicion to the recall. We survived the recall, the blackmail from the so-called woman, from the crazy lady on Facebook.”
Akpoti-Uduaghan insisted she owed no apology to anyone in the Senate leadership for her alleged misconduct or violation of its rules.
“We can’t calm down in the face of injustice. No one is more Nigerian than us. Senator Akpabio is not more of a senator than I am. He’s not a governor of this place. And he treated me, he treated me as if I was his servant or I was a domestic staff in his house.”
Her suspension had stemmed from a row over a sitting arrangement, but rights groups and political observers described the sanction as politically motivated. A Federal High Court ruling later declared the suspension unlawful, excessive, and unconstitutional.
Civil society organisations, including the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), welcomed her resumption, describing the unsealing of her office as a restoration of justice. HURIWA urged the Attorney-General of the Federation to end her ongoing trial, describing it as political persecution and a disgrace to Nigeria’s democracy.
The Senate has yet to issue an official statement on whether Akpoti-Uduaghan will be permitted to resume full plenary duties when the chamber reconvenes on October 7.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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