BREAKING: Sen. Natasha Akpoti resumes plenary session after Six-Month suspension

Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), representing Kogi Central, has resumed plenary at the National Assembly after serving a six-month suspension.

The lawmaker reclaimed her seat on Tuesday at exactly 11:42 a.m. to warm applause from her colleagues. She exchanged pleasantries with some senators as she settled into the chamber.

Akpoti-Uduaghan was accompanied by activists, including Bring Back Our Girls campaigner Aisha Yesufu, who was seen observing the proceedings from the Senate gallery. However, several of her supporters who arrived to show solidarity were reportedly denied entry into the gallery.

Her return followed the formal reopening of her office, Suite 2.05 in the Senate Wing, by the Deputy Director of the Chamber’s Sergeant-at-Arms, Alabi Adedeji, and security personnel.

The senator, who chaired the Senate Committee on Diaspora and NGOs before her suspension in March, had been barred from Senate activities for alleged misconduct after she protested the reassignment of her seat by Senate President Godswill Akpabio on February 20, 2025.

Although her suspension ended in September, she was unable to resume earlier due to ongoing legal tussles and opposition from Senate leadership.

In July, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ruled that the suspension was “excessive and unconstitutional,” ordering the Senate to recall Akpoti-Uduaghan. The judge emphasized that prolonged suspension deprived her constituents of representation.

Despite the ruling, the Senate maintained its stance that the lawmaker must serve her full suspension term. Her lawyer, Michael Jonathan Numa (SAN), later wrote to the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Kamorudeen Ogunlana, demanding her immediate recall or face contempt proceedings.

Responding, Ogunlana stated that his office had no authority to overturn or interpret Senate resolutions, stressing that only the Senate could decide when Akpoti-Uduaghan could resume.

In a statement signed by the Director of Information for the CNA, Bullah Audu Bi-Allah, the clerk reiterated that the Senate alone had the constitutional power to determine the lawmaker’s reinstatement.

With the Senate now back from its recess, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s resumption marks the end of a protracted standoff between her and the upper chamber over her suspension.