Senate President Godswill Obot Akpabio has not failed to prove critics wrong that he lacks the moral pedigree worthy of a law maker as he unleash a personal vendetta under the cover and support of unscrupulous members of the 10th Senate in the National Assembly to victimize and hound a woman lawmaker Senator Natasha Akpoti (Kogi Central) for refusing his alleged sexual overtures.
In a manner only accustomed to men of crude and uncivilized characters who found themselves in seat of power, Senator Akpabio has continually exemplified every attributes of everything wrong with the country Nigeria as a nation that celebrates lawlessness and condones rascality even in hallowed chambers where rules that should govern the country as a democratic society are made.
Unless Nigerians rise up to condemn the recent onslaught against Senator Natashia Akpoti by Senator Akpabio and his gangs of lawless and shameless individuals, Nigerians will continue to suffer the collective shame and ridicule in the face of the international community as a result of lawless characters like Godswill Obot Akpabio sitting as the chief Law-maker of the land.
As selected members of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) continue to raise concerns at the manner Senator Akpabio has decided to rubbish the seat of Law Making body of the country, Mr. Paul Obi (SAN) has described the keeping of Akpoti-Uduaghan outside the Senate chambers, after serving her six-month suspension, as wrong, unjustifiable, overreaching and an overkill.
“I don’t think that will be an action that is justifiable under the law, because you have put the woman on suspension for six months. She has tried to get the courts to reverse that. She has tried to get public opinion, sympathies and national communities to reverse that.
“You have stopped your guns and insisted on six months. Six months are drawing near now. And you want to start using the courts to extend, or judicial process, to extend that six months.
“That would be ultra vires in the powers of the Senate. I don’t think they will have that constitutional power to do that, and I think that would be overreaching and an overkill. The woman has served her punishment for what she did, by your own rules and by your own prescriptions. Allow her to return to the Senate to do her job for her constituency. They have no justification for that attempted extension of her suspension, because that’s what it is. They want to extend the suspension surreptitiously. That’s not right.”
Similarly, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN) said the Senate was overreaching itself in not allowing Akpoti-Uduaghan to resume in the Senate until the case is determined by the court.
Adegboruwa argued that an indirect extension beyond the six-month suspension portrays the Senate as being vindictive and petty.
Adegboruwa said, “I think the Senate is overreaching itself with this position. First, the suspension of the Senator was for six months, which was limited by time. Once the six months expire, she should be allowed to resume her seat in the Senate automatically. Failure to allow her to resume is indirectly extending the suspension beyond six months, without a valid resolution of the Senate to that effect. There is no such resolution at the moment. The case pending in court cannot be the reason to extend her suspension illegally.
“Second, the court case being referred to relates to the six-month suspension, as to its validity and constitutionality. The appeal flowing from that case is also limited in scope to the six-month suspension. Anything to the contrary will portray the Senate as being vindictive and petty.
“Third, the point was made by the trial court that the period of suspension should not exceed the usual sitting days of the Senate for a session. To refuse her resumption after the six months will be to make the suspension indefinite.”
He argued that the purpose of the suspension has been fulfilled, hence depriving Natasha of resumption was depriving millions of constituents of representation.
“Since this matter relates to the rights and privileges of a whole constituency comprising millions of voters, the Senate should do the needful by allowing Senator Natasha to resume forthwith.
“She has already served the six months in full, and any determination by the court can only relate to the validity of the suspension and her entitlements, but certainly, the sessions of the Senate that she missed due to her suspension cannot be reversed forever. In essence, the purpose of the suspension having been fulfilled, no useful purpose will be served to deny her from resuming duties as a Senator,” Adegboruwa said.
Taking a contrary position, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) argued that the Senate and Akpoti-Uduaghan should continue to fight to see out the case.
“On Natasha, the last time I checked, I thought I saw both parties in court with appeals and cross appeals. This means that both parties should fight their appeals and await the court’s pronouncement.”
The group said, “The Senate President Mr Godswill Akpabio and Nigeria’s Senate must immediately allow Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to resume her legislative duties as indicated in her letter to the clerk of the National Assembly.
“The Senate cannot use the pending case(s) in court as a pretext to prevent Mrs Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan from resuming legislative duties. This is antithetical to the fundamental notion of the rule of law.
“There is no law in Nigeria that prevents the resumption of her legislative duties pending the hearing and determination of the case(s) in court. This travesty of justice must end.”
The group added, “Mr Godswill Akpabio and the Senate must immediately honour Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan’s letter notifying the clerk to the national assembly of her intention to resume on September 4, the date she said marked the end of her six-month suspension.
“The Senate should not continue to punish Mrs Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan solely for the peaceful exercise of her constitutionally and internationally recognized right to freedom of expression.
“The Senate must allow her to resume her legislative duties and pay her salary and allowances for the duration of the suspension.”
SERAP held that preventing her to resume her legislative duties is a blatant disregard of the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the country’s international human rights obligations including under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.
“No one should ever be punished for ‘speaking without permission’. Being a senator does not deprive Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan of her fundamental human rights.
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