The Federal High Court in Abuja has thrown out a suit seeking to nullify the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, ruling that the case was instituted by individuals without the legal standing to do so.
Delivering judgment on Friday, Justice James Omotosho held that the ten plaintiffs, led by Ovavu Illiyasu, had no locus standi to challenge the Senate’s decision to suspend the Kogi Central lawmaker. The judge maintained that the action lacked merit and therefore struck out the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/654/2025.
The plaintiffs had argued that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension, imposed in July for alleged misconduct, deprived the people of Kogi Central of adequate representation at the National Assembly. They asked the court to declare the disciplinary action void.
Justice Omotosho, however, disagreed, stating that only parties directly affected by the suspension could validly bring such a case before the court.
Akpoti-Uduaghan herself had earlier challenged her suspension in a separate suit. In September, Justice Omotosho ruled in her favour, ordering her reinstatement and declaring the Senate’s action unconstitutional. The Senate has since appealed that ruling and sought a stay of execution, with the matter still pending at the Court of Appeal.
