A High Court sitting in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has issued an interim order stopping the Senate Ethics Committee from proceeding with its planned investigation of the actions of senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The court presided by Justice Obiora Egwuatu gave the order on Tuesday following an ex parte application filed by counsels to Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The ruling comes as the Senate committee was set to convene and potentially impose an indefinite suspension on the senator.
This interim order halts all proceedings on the matter pending further judicial review.
Pointblanknews.com had earlier reported that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan discovered that her seat had been reassigned without prior notice on February 20, during a Senate session.
Interpreting this as an attempt to diminish her visibility and stifle her contributions, she refused to occupy the new seat.
Chief Whip Tahir Monguno cited Senate rules to justify the reassignment, explaining that changes were necessary due to shifts in party affiliations among senators.
Despite this, Akpoti-Uduaghan stood her ground, leading to a heated exchange with Senate President Akpabio, who directed the sergeant-at-arms to enforce the seating arrangement.
Following the seating arrangement dispute, the Senate unanimously voted to refer Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions for a disciplinary review.
The committee, chaired by Senator Neda Imaseun, was tasked with submitting its findings within two weeks.
Consequently, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan filed a N100 billion defamation lawsuit against Senate President Akpabio and his aide, Mfon Patrick. The suit alleged that a Facebook post authored by Patrick, at Akpabio’s behest, contained defamatory remarks about her, including comments on her legislative competence and personal appearance.
The lawsuit seeks damages and a public apology, claiming the publication harmed her reputation and subjected her to public ridicule.
She has since the incident accused the Senate President of making sexual advances towards her.
Akpabio has since denied the allegation, while his wife has threatened to sue the Kogi senator.