The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Nigerian Senate to immediately allow Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to resume her legislative duties, insisting that her continued suspension undermines the rule of law.
In a statement issued on September 9, 2025, on its official X handle, SERAP said the Senate could not rely on pending court cases as justification to prevent Akpoti-Uduaghan from returning to her seat, noting that “there is no law in Nigeria that prevents her from resuming legislative duties while the matter is before the courts.”
The group described the prolonged suspension as a “travesty of justice” and urged the Senate leadership to respect the senator’s letter to the Clerk of the National Assembly indicating her readiness to return on September 4, which she marked as the end of her six-month suspension.
SERAP further argued that punishing Akpoti-Uduaghan for exercising her constitutional right to freedom of expression contravenes both the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended) and Nigeria’s international human rights obligations, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The organisation demanded that the Senate not only reinstate the senator but also pay her full salaries and allowances withheld during the suspension. It warned that preventing her return amounted to a disregard for democratic principles, stressing that lawmakers should lead by example in upholding the rule of law.
“No one should ever be punished for speaking without permission. Being a senator does not strip Mrs. Akpoti-Uduaghan of her fundamental human rights,” SERAP said, urging the Senate to embrace greater tolerance, especially regarding political speech directed at government officials.
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