The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has condemned the decision of the Senate to prevent Kogi Central Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from resuming her legislative duties after serving her six-month suspension.
SERAP, in a statement on Tuesday, condemned the Senate’s stance on Natasha’s resumption, urging the legislative house to allow Natasha to resume her legislative functions.
Natasha was suspended on March 6 after the Senate’s Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions Committee accepted a report accusing her of insubordination for refusing to relinquish her assigned place during plenary.
The verdict stripped her of her salary, assistants, and office privileges.
The senator has constantly stated that her suspension was politically motivated, citing a petition she filed charging Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment, which the Senate disregarded.
She fought the action in court, saying in April that she had obtained a favorable ruling.
However, Senate leadership claimed she would be punished for the entire six months.
In July, her dramatic effort to re-enter the chamber culminated in a standoff, with security personnel barring her admission despite protests from her supporters outside the National Assembly.
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However, following the expiration of her suspension, in a letter dated September 4, the Acting Clerk to the National Assembly, Dr. Yahaya Danzaria, formally notified Akpoti-Uduaghan that her six-month suspension imposed on March 6 remains in force until the Court of Appeal delivers judgment in her suit against the Senate.
“The matter remains sub judice, and until the judicial process is concluded, no administrative action can be taken to facilitate your resumption. You will be duly notified of the Senate decision on the matter as soon as it is resolved,” the letter stated.
In reaction to this development, SERAP said, “The Senate President, Mr. Godswill Akpabio, and Nigeria’s Senate must immediately allow Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to resume her legislative duties as indicated in her letter to the clerk of the National Assembly.
“The Senate cannot use the pending case(s) in court as a pretext to prevent Mrs. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from resuming legislative duties. This is antithetical to the fundamental notion of the rule of law.
“There is no law in Nigeria that prevents the resumption of her legislative duties pending the hearing and determination of the case(s) in court. This travesty of justice must end.”
SERAP added, “Mr. Godswill Akpabio and the Senate must immediately honor Mrs. Akpoti-Uduaghan’s letter notifying the clerk of the National Assembly of her intention to resume on September 4, the date she said marked the end of her six-month suspension.
“The Senate should not continue to punish Mrs. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan solely for the peaceful exercise of her constitutionally and internationally recognized right to freedom of expression.
“The Senate must allow her to resume her legislative duties and pay her salary and allowances for the duration of the suspension.”
SERAP held that preventing her from resuming her legislative duties is a blatant disregard of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended] and the country’s international human rights obligations, including under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nigeria is a state party.
“No one should ever be punished for ‘speaking without permission.’ Being a senator does not deprive Mrs. Akpoti-Uduaghan of her fundamental human rights.
“The Senate should be setting an example by upholding the rule of law and promoting and protecting fundamental human rights, not stamping them out.
“A higher degree of tolerance is expected when it is a political speech, and an even higher threshold is required when it is directed towards government officials, including members of the Senate.”
