Suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan forced her way through the first gate of the National Assembly complex by foot after security operatives initially blocked her convoy from gaining access.
Senator Natasha, who is currently serving a six-month suspension handed down by the Senate, walked the about 500 meters distance to the second gate where a reinforced security including high fences forced her to a stop.
She had earlier vowed to resume plenary following a court judgment that has been disputed by the Senate that she claims voided her suspension for six months.
Background on the suspension: Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension was part of a contentious period in the Senate, with disagreements over her actions and responses to certain issues being debated among senators.
On Tuesday morning, Natasha’s black SUV was stopped at the National Assembly main gate, with security officials denying her entry. Also halted was the vehicle in front of her, which had popular activist Aisha Yesufu onboard.
Despite the resistance, Natasha refused to back down. In a bold move, the embattled senator alighted from her vehicle and continued the about 500 meters journey into the complex on foot, accompanied by a crowd of supporters chanting slogans in solidarity. They were eventually stopped at the last gate leading into the complex, the very gate where APC legislators in 2014 jumped after it was locked in an alleged attempt to impeach Speaker Aminu Tambuwal.
Her entry has since stirred fresh controversy, as the Senate maintains it has not been officially instructed by the court to lift her suspension. After she was stopped, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan told newsmen that she had every right to resume.
She alleged that the Senate did not appeal the judgment of Justice Nyako but that it was rather Senator Akpabio who appealed the judgment and also joined the Senate and the National Assembly as respondents. She accused the Senate President of foisting a dictatorship on the lawmaking body. She further accused the institutions of state of waging a war against her for speaking against sexual harassment alleging that the state had dragged her to court putting forward people she claimed have files in the EFCC as witnesses.
Also speaking at the National Assembly gate, popular activist, Aisha Yesufu accused the National Assembly leadership of bringing down the moral principles of the institution. “The people who scaled the wall in 2014 are the same people now blocking people from entering the assembly,” Yesufu who introduced herself as an angry Nigerian fumed.
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