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By Tracy Moses
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has vowed to drag the Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Kamorudeen Ogunlana, to court over alleged attempts to stop her from resuming legislative duties following the completion of her six-month suspension.
In a letter dated September 10, 2025, and issued through her counsel, M.J Numa & Partners LLP, the Kogi Central lawmaker accused the Clerk of acting outside the law by seeking to obstruct her return to the Senate. The letter alleged that Ogunlana’s actions amount to violations of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, incitement capable of breaching public peace, and other infractions.
The lawyers faulted a prior communication from the Clerk which cited sub judice as grounds for barring her resumption. They described this as a gross misinterpretation of the principle, noting that sub judice merely restricts parliamentary debate on active court matters and does not justify disobedience to court orders or the denial of constitutional rights.
“Our client’s return to her legislative duties does not in any way prejudice the pending appeal. What prejudices the appeal is your unlawful obstruction, which assumes the Senate will inevitably prevail,” the letter signed by Michael Jonathan Numa (SAN) stated.
They stressed that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension, imposed on March 6, elapsed on September 6, and that the Senate, having become functus officio on the matter, has no legal authority to extend or reinterpret the punishment. Any further attempt to stop her, the letter argued, would amount to double punishment for the same alleged misconduct.
The Senator further cited multiple violations of judicial directives by the Senate, including a March 4 interim order by Justice Egwuatu of the Federal High Court barring disciplinary proceedings against her, and a July 4 ruling by Justice Binta Nyako which nullified the suspension as unlawful and ordered her recall.
Despite these rulings, Akpoti-Uduaghan noted that the Clerk, in a September 4 letter, sought to prolong her suspension “through administrative interpretation, without a fresh Senate resolution or a valid court order.”
The letter warned that persistent disregard for court orders erodes judicial authority and breaches Section 287 of the Constitution, which mandates all persons and institutions, including the office of the Clerk, to comply with court judgments.