A human rights lawyer, Oluwaseyi Faro of Deji Adeyanju & Partners, has criticized the Senate for failing to reinstate Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, despite the expiration of her six-month suspension in early September 2025.
Faro warned that the Senate’s decision poses a serious danger to Nigeria’s democracy, setting a precedent where court appeals and stay orders could be used to indefinitely prevent duly elected lawmakers from resuming their duties.
He stressed that under Order 68(7) of the Senate Standing Orders, 2023 (as amended), suspensions are strictly time-bound and must end once the specified period lapses. According to him, the Senate’s reliance on a pending appeal and a stay of enforcement order from the Court of Appeal does not override its own rules.
“The Senate is punishing Natasha beyond the limit of its powers and, in doing so, is denying the people of Kogi Central their constitutional right to representation,” Faro said.
He explained that while the appeal may delay enforcement of the Federal High Court’s earlier judgment—which declared the suspension unconstitutional—it does not extend the suspension itself.
“The mandate of a senator does not belong to the senator personally; it belongs to the people. When you silence that voice, you silence the electorate,” he added.
Faro urged the Senate to allow Senator Natasha to immediately resume her legislative duties, insisting that doing so would demonstrate respect for the rule of law and uphold Nigeria’s democratic principles.
