Justice Obiora Egwatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the suit filed by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, to March 25, 2025. The senator had approached the court seeking an order to restrain the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges from investigating her.
Last week, the court granted the restraining order, but despite this, the Senate on Thursday, March 7, suspended Senator Natasha for six months after considering the committee’s report. During Monday’s proceedings, the counsels for the first, second, and third defendants told the court they had not been served with the necessary documents.
Natasha’s counsel, Michael Numa (SAN), insisted that all parties had been served, presenting affidavits of service to support his claim. After reviewing the affidavits, Justice Egwatu confirmed that all defendants had indeed been served. Following this confirmation, counsel for the third defendant, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, requested an adjournment to allow for the harmonization of all legal processes. Other defense counsels supported the request, arguing that it would enable an expedited hearing at the next court session.
In his ruling, Justice Egwatu granted the request and adjourned the matter to March 25, 2025. He also ordered that all necessary processes be duly served on all parties before the next hearing.
Speaking after the proceedings, the Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate, Peter Nwaebonyi, emphasized the importance of legal services, stating that proper service of court documents ensures that parties can adequately study the case and respond appropriately. He noted that it was unusual for the court to interfere in the affairs of the Senate but added that the upper chamber was only responding to the court’s directive as a responsible and law-abiding institution.
