Nigeria’s Court of Appeal in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, has ruled that Nigeria’s Senate acted within its powers when it suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the elected lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in Kogi State, north-central Nigeria, over misconduct.
In a unanimous decision by a three-member panel, the court said it was satisfied that neither the senator’s parliamentary privilege nor her constitutional rights were breached by the suspension.
However, the court set aside the contempt proceeding and the ₦5 million Nigerian naira fine (about $3,700) that had been awarded against her over a satirical apology linked to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who leads the upper chamber of Nigeria’s National Assembly. The dollar estimate uses a USD to Nigerian naira rate of about ₦1,356.69 to $1 on Monday, February 9, 2026.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Abba Muhammed, the appellate court also upheld the Senate President’s decision to deny Akpoti-Uduaghan the chance to speak during plenary when she was not seated in the official place assigned to her.
The court held that the Senate President is empowered under the Senate’s rules to allocate seats to lawmakers, and that members are only permitted to speak from seats formally assigned to them. The dispute, the court noted, followed events during plenary on Thursday, February 20, 2025, when Akpoti-Uduaghan was not in the seat allotted to her.
Okay News reports that the ruling is a significant test of how far Nigeria’s legislature can go in disciplining members, while courts review claims tied to constitutional rights and parliamentary privilege.
More details are expected to emerge as the full implications of the judgment become clearer.
