The Senate suspended Natasha Akpoti-Udughan, the senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, for six months on Thursday.
Her suspension came amid the sexual harassment claims she made against Senate President Godswill Akpabio. She formally petitioned the Senate over the claims on Wednesday, but the petition was deemed “dead on arrival”.
While reading out the conditions of the suspension during plenary, the lawmakers voted not to reconsider the vote in favour of her suspension before the six months elapsed.
Some years before Akpoti-Uduaghan, some other senators were suspended from the National Assembly. At least two of them challenged their suspensions in court and won.
In March 2017, the Senate suspended Ali Ndume, who was representing Borno South senatorial district at the time, for 90 legislative days.
Ndume had asked for a probe into allegations of importing a bulletproof Range Rover with fake documents involving Senate President Bukola Saraki and that of perjury involving Dino Melaye, the senator representing Kogi West.
The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions subsequently recommended Ndume’s suspension for “failing to conduct proper investigation before making the allegations” and for “bringing the Senate to unbearable disrepute”.
After the suspension, Ndume approached the Federal High Court in Abuja over the matter. In November 2017, the court nullified the suspension and declared it “illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional”.
The court also ordered Saraki and the Senate to pay the suspended senator all outstanding salaries and allowances.
In May 2018, a Federal High Court in Abuja equally nullified the suspension of Ovie Omo-Agege, Delta Central Senatorial District’s representative, from the Senate.
Omo-Agege was suspended in April 2018 for accusing his colleagues of working against President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2019 re-election plans.
He was initially recommended to be suspended for 181 legislative days, but it was later reduced to 90 following pleas by Senate President Saraki.
While nullifying the suspension, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba ruled that constitutional provisions only allowed the Senate to suspend its members for a maximum of 14 days.
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The judge then ruled that the decision to suspend Omo-Agege for 90 days was a nullity. The court nullified it with immediate effect and further ruled that all outstanding salaries and allowances be paid to him.
Senator Joseph Waku, representing Benue North West, was suspended in 2000. Arthur Nzeribe of Orlu Senatorial constituency was also suspended indefinitely in 2002 while Abdul Ningi of Bauchi Central got a three-month suspension in March 2024. However, checks by FIJ showed no reports suggesting that they challenged their suspension in court.
SIMILAR OUTCOMES FOR SUSPENDED HOUSE OF REPS MEMBERS
FIJ found that some members of the House of Representatives who got suspended and challenged the move in court also got similar outcomes.
For instance, in 2018, an Abuja Federal High Court voided the 180-legislative-day suspension of Abdulmumin Jibrin. The House suspended Jibrin in September 2016 because he reported cases of corrupt practices against its leadership to anti-corruption agencies.
Jibrin took the matter to court, where the judge ruled the suspension unlawful and unconstitutional and ordered the lower legislative chamber to pay Jibrin all the salaries and benefits owed to him during the period of his unjust suspension.
In 2010, a court also ordered some lawmakers to be reinstated and their salaries and allowances paid months after they were suspended indefinitely.
The court also ordered that they be readmitted because the House erred in suspending them indefinitely when the law only allows the suspension of erring members for 14 legislative days.
{ FIJ }
