The Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order restraining the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions from proceeding with disciplinary actions against Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central.
The ruling was delivered on Tuesday by Justice Obiora Egwuatu following an ex parte application submitted by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team.
The senator had been summoned by the Senate’s disciplinary panel after a heated confrontation with Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on February 20.
The disagreement stemmed from Akpoti-Uduaghan’s refusal to accept her assigned seat, as well as her persistent attempts to raise a point of order despite Akpabio’s overruling.
In response, the Senate referred her to the Ethics Committee for disciplinary review.
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However, the controversy deepened when Akpoti-Uduaghan, in a February 28 interview on Arise TV, claimed that her ordeal in the Senate began after she allegedly rejected sexual advances from the Senate President.
The court’s order temporarily halts any disciplinary action against her pending further legal proceedings.