Dr. Oby Ezekwesili
Former Minister of Education and founder of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG), Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, has issued a scathing memo to the Nigerian Senate, the judiciary, and citizens, condemning what she described as “an unprecedented assault on constitutional principles” in the prolonged suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
In her statement titled “A Memo to the Nigerian Senate, Judiciary and Fellow Citizens: The Senate’s Constitutional Overreach in the Case of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan — Democracy Dies When Laws Become Weapons and Lawmakers Become Serial Lawbreakers”, Ezekwesili warned that the six-month suspension of the Kogi Central senator, which began on March 6, 2025, and was recently extended indefinitely, represents a grave danger to Nigeria’s democracy.
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Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended after she accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment. Instead of conducting an impartial investigation, Ezekwesili said, the Senate has “used this opportunity to taunt citizens on how successfully they have captured the Nigerian state, perpetrating unlimited abuse with zero accountability or fear of consequences.”
The Senate, in a September 4 letter signed by the Acting Clerk, informed Akpoti-Uduaghan that her suspension would continue indefinitely, citing the pendency of litigation. Ezekwesili dismissed this justification as “preposterous,” insisting that the legislature cannot hide behind ongoing court processes to perpetuate “an already unconstitutional suspension” that exceeds its own rules. She noted that Senate Rule 67(4) allows a suspension of no more than 14 days.
She further referenced two Federal High Court rulings—in 2017 and 2018—where suspensions exceeding that period were declared “illegal, unlawful, and unconstitutional.” Justice Binta Nyako, who reviewed the present case, similarly ruled that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension was “excessive” and violated the rights of her constituents to representation.
“The numbers tell a stark story,” Ezekwesili said. “Six months and counting have already denied the people of Kogi Central over 100% of their constitutionally mandated representation in a legislative session that only sits for 181 days.”
Ezekwesili accused the Senate of becoming “both accuser and judge” in a matter directly involving its leadership, thereby eroding the principle of separation of powers. She urged Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola and the National Judicial Council (NJC) to address the “concerning inconsistencies” in judicial enforcement, warning that impunity at the top would endanger all Nigerians.
“Democracy thrives when citizens refuse to be silent spectators to injustice,” she declared. “Every day without remedy chips away at democracy’s foundation. Every moment court orders are defied by those in power teaches our children that law is optional for the powerful.”
She concluded her memo with a direct call to the upper legislative chamber: “Rescind your unconstitutional decision immediately. Recall Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan without delay. Cease your scandalous misappropriation of public office powers to break laws and breach our Constitution. End this hubris now.”
