Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja handling the suit filed by the suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan seeking to restrain the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions from taking any disciplinary action against her, has recused himself from the matter.
The embattled senator representing Kogi Central senatorial district had dragged the Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and the Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions to court seeking to stop any disciplinary action against her following her altercation with the Senate President.
Justice Egwuatu had, on March 10, 2025 adjourned the matter till Tuesday, March 25 for a hearing of all applications filed in the matter and directed parties to file and serve all the applications before then.
When the matter was called on Tuesday, Justice Egwuatu, in a short ruling, recused himself from the case and ordered that the case file be transferred to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to another judge for continuation.
The Judge noted that his recusal from the matter was as a result of rumours of bias against him.
Justice Egwuatu had while ruling on an ex-parte application filed by Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan granted an interim injunction restraining the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions from proceeding with disciplinary actions against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Despite the restraining order, she was given a six-month suspension over a heated exchange of words she had with Senate President Godswill Akpabio during the February 20 plenary.
She had protested her assigned seating arrangement, repeatedly raising a point of order despite being overruled. In response, the Senate referred her case to the ethics committee for review.
On February 28, in an interview with Arise TV, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that her troubles in the Senate began after she rejected unwanted advances from Akpabio.
In her application, she urged the court to declare any action taken during the pendency of her suit as, “null, void, and of no effect.”
Granting the interim injunction, Justice Egwuatu ordered the defendants to appear within 72 hours of being served to show cause why a full interlocutory injunction should not be issued against them.
