Suspended Nigerian Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has formally demanded her reinstatement to the Senate, citing a recent Federal High Court ruling which declared her suspension unconstitutional and ordered her immediate recall.
In a letter dated 16 July 2025, her legal counsel, Michael Jonathan, addressed the National Assembly’s Director of Litigation and Counselling, Charles Yoila, rejecting a Senate response which dismissed the ruling as merely advisory.
The dispute centres on a Federal High Court judgment in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025, in which the court issued 12 explicit orders—each prefaced by “IT IS HEREBY ORDERED.” The court found Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions to be in breach of Section 63 of the Nigerian Constitution and the Senate’s own Standing Orders (2023).
The Senate maintains that the use of the word “should” in one of the orders—directing her recall—renders the directive optional. However, Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team argues the judgment is binding in its entirety, especially given the court’s findings of constitutional violations.
They cited the 2025 case Ecobank (Nig.) Ltd v. Tempo Energy (Nig.) Ltd to assert that even directives framed in suggestive language are judicially enforceable when issued in the context of constitutional redress.
“The judgment contains clear, enforceable judicial directives,” the letter insists, referencing Section 287(3) of the Constitution, which obliges all authorities—including the legislature—to comply with decisions of the Federal High Court.
Akpoti-Uduaghan has notified the Senate of her intention to resume her legislative duties on 22 July, following the conclusion of national mourning for former President Muhammadu Buhari. Her legal team warned that failure to comply with the court order would prompt “all lawful measures” to enforce her reinstatement.
