Prominent activist Aisha Yesufu has pledged to personally escort Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan as she makes her determined return to the upper chamber today, defying the Senate’s ongoing resistance to her reinstatement.
Yesufu, speaking with conviction, highlighted the gravity of the continued standoff between the federal judiciary and the legislative arm. “I think Senator Natasha has every right to resume office, and by tomorrow, she is not going to resume alone. There are people who are going to go with her, and I’ll be one of them,” she declared. “We’ll be with her and stand with her. And if the Senate decides they are going to kill us, let them kill us.”
Her support arises after a Federal High Court judgment, delivered by Justice Binta Nyako, pronounced Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension unconstitutional, ordering her immediate reinstatement. Yet the Senate President’s legal advisers swiftly contested the ruling, claiming it trespasses into legislative autonomy and is beyond the court’s scope.
In her appearance on Channels Television, Yesufu also vocally criticized the ongoing gender imbalance in the Senate. Out of 109 seats, only four are held by women. “Yet you go after them, you’re going after this particular lady who has done nothing other than discharge her duty the way it should be,” she observed, condemning what she called a persistent pattern of discrimination.
Yesufu further expressed deep concerns that “the judiciary, which should be the last hope of the common man, is now a pawn in the hands of corrupt politicians,” lamenting the erosion of judicial independence.
For her part, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan reaffirmed her intention to return to the chamber today: “I have pretty much two months left before the six months expire. However, I’ve written to the Senate again, telling them that I’m resuming on the 22nd, which is Tuesday, by the special grace of God. I will be there because the court did make a decision on that. They may argue that it’s not an order, but it is a decision.”
In response, the Senate reiterated that it will not allow her return before the full expiration of her suspension, citing what it claims is an absence of a binding reinstatement order.
okay.ng reports that the unfolding confrontation highlights deepening institutional tensions over the rule of law and gender inclusion in Nigerian politics.
