Natasha’s lawyers slam NASS Clerk, demand immediate recall to Senate

By Nathaniel Zaccheaus, Abuja

The legal team representing Senator Natasha Hadiza Akpoti-Uduaghan has issued a stern warning to the Clerk of the National Assembly, accusing him of obstructing the lawmaker’s return to the Senate despite the expiration of her suspension and existing court rulings in her favour.

In a letter dated September 11, 2025, signed by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Michael Jonathan Numa, the lawyers described the Clerk’s refusal to process Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s return as “unlawful, unconstitutional, and politically motivated.”

The Kogi Central lawmaker was suspended earlier this year by the Senate, a move that was widely condemned by legal experts and civil society groups.
However, after securing favourable judgments from two separate courts, her legal team insists she has a constitutional right to resume her legislative duties.
Part of the letter read, “Our client’s right to resume her parliamentary duties, after the expiration of her fixed-term suspension, is rooted in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

“It cannot be abridged by administrative fiat or internal Senate maneuverings.”

The dispute escalated following a letter dated September 4, 2025, in which the Clerk claimed he could not process the senator’s return because the matter was still “sub judice” and awaiting final judicial determination.

Akpoti-Uduaghan’s lawyers said the Clerk’s position amounted to a “deliberate attempt to subvert the sovereign will of the people of Kogi Central.”
They argued that the Clerk, as a non-elected official, lacks the authority to delay or deny a duly elected senator’s return after her suspension has expired.

The lawyers said, “Your functions are purely ministerial: to record, transmit, and implement decisions duly made by the Senate or directed by the courts.

“By assuming powers you do not possess, you have acted ultra vires and placed both yourself personally and your office in contempt of the Constitution and binding judicial orders.”

The lawyers dismissed the Clerk’s reliance on the “sub judice” doctrine as a gross misapplication, stating that it is merely a self-imposed restraint on legislative debate, not a license to override court decisions or constitutional rights.

According to the legal team, the senator’s suspension, regardless of its original legality, ended around September 6, 2025, making any continued restriction an unlawful extension of punishment.

They cited a series of court decisions backing their position, including a March 4 interim injunction by Justice Egwuatu restraining the Senate from suspending her and a July 4 judgment by Justice Binta Nyako.

They said both rulings  declared the suspension illegal and ordered her recall, which according to them, the Senate dismissed as “advisory.”

Despite these, the Clerk allegedly continued to enforce the suspension by barring the senator’s access to the National Assembly complex and withholding her entitlements.

“Even if the suspension were valid, it has lapsed. The Senate is now functus officio. Further obstruction constitutes a second punishment for the same alleged offence,” the letter stated.

The legal team then gave the Clerk until Monday, September 15, to allow the senator’s resumption or face legal consequences, including contempt proceedings, disciplinary sanctions, and personal liability.

“We hereby demand that you immediately facilitate Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s resumption of her legislative duties without further obstruction,” the lawyers warned.

They concluded by advising the Clerk to comply with the Constitution and court orders “to avoid inciting a breach of the peace.”