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Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s attempt to enforce non-existent order

Published

10 months ago

July 16, 2025

Legal Opinion By Dayo Fadugba, Esq.

I consider it a duty to draw the attention of the general public to the ongoing legal developments surrounding the judgment delivered by Hon. Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on July 4, 2025, in the case instituted by the suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Contrary to misleading public narratives, it is imperative to clarify that Senator Natasha lost all the reliefs she sought before the court. Specifically, the Federal High Court dismissed the following claims made by her:

1. Her challenge to the Senate’s decision to invite her to appear before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions;

2. Her objection to the reassignment of her seat in the Senate chamber; and

3. Her claim in seeking to speak from an unauthorised seat on the Senate floor. In dismissing this claim, the court held that she was in breach of the Senate Standing Orders when she attempted to invoke Order 10 (which is an order of privilege), whereas she had violated Order 6(1) and (2) by refusing to speak from her newly assigned seat. This conduct was rightly held to be unparliamentary.

4. Her argument that she cannot be disciplined by the Senate.

All of these claims were resolved against her. Most importantly, no positive or mandatory orders were issued by the court for her recall to the Senate.

Despite this judicial defeat, Senator Natasha was seen celebrating with her supporters, falsely suggesting that the court had ordered her recall. When the reality of the judgment became clear, she filed a Notice of Appeal against aspects of the decision she found unfavourable, particularly the direct orders of the court that found her guilty of contempt and imposed specific sanctions. The court ordered her to:

Pay the sum of ₦5 million to the Federal Government;

Pull down from her Facebook page a satirical and mocking post purporting to be an “apology”; and

Publish a sincere apology in two national newspapers and on her Facebook page.

To date, she has not complied with any of these clear and unequivocal orders. Instead, she now seeks to return to the Senate under the guise of enforcing a non-existent court order, falsely claiming that the obiter dicta of the Honourable Judge, mere judicial observations, constitute binding and enforceable directives. This distortion is legally flawed and grossly misrepresents the true state of the law and the facts.

Even more troubling is the emerging pattern of converting serious judicial proceedings into social media content, prioritizing optics over substance and trivializing the gravity of legal accountability.

In response to this self-induced legal confusion, a cross-appeal and an interlocutory application have been filed. These are aimed at preserving the dignity and independence of the Senate and preventing any disruptive consequences arising from the deliberate mischaracterisation of the court’s decision.

It must be emphasised that this cross-appeal is not political. It is a constitutional safeguard, filed to affirm that Justice Nyako’s remarks suggesting a review of Senate Standing Orders or the recall of the Senator were merely advisory opinions (obiter dicta). They were not binding judicial orders, as they did not emanate from any of the reliefs sought by the Plaintiff and cannot, in law, be enforced.

It is my considered opinion that, the Legislature and particularly the Senate should not be distracted from its constitutional responsibilities.

* Fadugba, Esq. is a Legal Analyst

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Presidency: Nigeria needs me now! – Makinde *They’ve pushed us to the wall

Published

11 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Whirlwindnews

Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Governor of Oyo State, on Thursday, finally threw his hats into the ring by declaring his intention to run for president in 2027, with a message – history beckons.

The governor, whose ambition has been a matter of speculations for months now and who had teamed up with forces angling to force President Bola Tinubu, out of power, told a teeming crowd in Ibadan on Thursday that time had come to reset Nigeria.

At a mega-rally to announce the alliance between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the Allied Peoples’ Movement, (APM), Makinde, expressed worry over the dwindling fortunes of Nigerians, vowing to engage Nigerians to end the drift.

Hear him: “Without a multi-party system, there is no democracy. Where is our multi-party? Where do we go from here? We have been pushed to the wall.

“They calculated and self-opposition cannot unite but I am here to say that the opposition is the everyday Nigerian. This is the time for all us to ensure Nigeria works for us. This is the time to confront it fears. It is time to engage as citizens and not spectators.

“For the opposition political parties, this is the time to unite and work in unity and give our nation the much reset it needs. The time to reset Nigeria is now. Ibadan is the city of warriors. The first grand alliance is formed. The PDP and APM is formed. This handshake will allow us to field candidates from presidency to state Assembly. And so, I declare my candidacy for office of the president of Nigeria.”

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I saw hell in the hands of EFCC – UUTH doctor *I’m still traumatised

Published

11 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Whirlwindnews

Eyo Ekpe, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), on Wednesday, gave a detailed account on how operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) manhandled him on Monday.

He told reporters that he was at sea on why he should fall victim to the assault against his person and eventually arrested given that was not right person directly involved in the information the agency sought.

Some operatives of the EFCC who invaded the hospital, had whisked Ekpe away after firing teargas to scare away the workers, patients and visitors to the hospital, following what appeared like a fracas the ensued over what it claimed was a routine duty in the facility.

Ekpe, Deputy Chairman of the hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), described how an operative had first entered his office to make inquiries on why the hospital was yet to give a response to an EFCC inquiry over a medical report linked to a suspect facing trial.

He detailed how he briefed the operative that the said response was being prepared and even went ahead to show him the draft of a letter in that regard, which needed to go through the gamut of official endorsement before being released.

Hear him: “The head of that internal medicine department looked at the report and also discovered that the name of the doctor that signed the report is not a member of staff of that department.

“I had prepared prepared a response to the EFCC on Monday, May 11, 2026, based on the findings. When the EFCC operative visited my office the next morning to collect the document, I told him that the response was ready in draft. I even showed him the draft, but told him that the document still needed approval from the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital before it could be officially signed and released.

“He pretended to have accepted that. He left, but later later returned with another armed operative and informed me that I was under arrest. I asked him why. I was not the one that issued the medical report. My name is not on the medical report. The report was not issued from my unit.

“But he said I would get the answer when I get to their office. I then asked him to at least wait for my staff member who I sent on an errand before joining them. But they refused.

“They started pushing me. They dragged me out of the office. Then I began to cry while they were dragging me. They had warned me not to speak. They had taken my phone. My cry as they were dragging me, attracted the workers to the scene, who enquired what was going on, but because they ordered me not to speak, I couldn’t say anything. They had their guns.

The members of staff of the hospital initially blocked them from taking me away. They then made a call. After that I saw many masked and armed men came violently, broke the protector, threatening the people that were around and people ran away.

“They picked some staff that were still by me. they dragged me and other staff, five of us into their van downstairs. By that time they discovered that the gate of the hospital were locked. So, they drove towards the gate and packed and the commotion continued. We were inside the van.

“I was so emotionally and psychologically traumatised that I couldn’t even look out of the vehicle to see what was happening outside. But I know that teargas and live bullets were shot. That’s all I can say for now.”

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We raised alarm over Malami’s huge transactions, bank tells court

Published

12 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Whirlwindnews

Joyce Abdulmalik, of the Federal High Court, Abuja, heard on Wednesday, how Zenith Bank raised alarm over the huge transaction in one of its branches by Abubakar Malami, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF-MoJ).

The bank said it immediately filed a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) in respect to the transactions, during its appearance in the ongoing trial of Malami, his wife, and son over allegation of massive looting of funds belonging to the Federal Government during his tenure.

Mashelia Bata, a compliance officer with the bank, who appeared as witness in the case, where Malami, et al, are facing a 16-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering to the tune of N8.7 billion, to which they pleaded not guilty, gave the testimony while being questioned on the bank’s roles in the matter.

Details of the testimony conveyed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), stated how the compliance officer who was cross-examined by Adebayo Adedeji, lawyer to the defendants admitted that the deposits in the account statements complied with the guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Arguments had stretched when Adedeji, opposed Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), lawyer to the EFCC, who had asked the witness to explain the meaning of a suspicious transaction report, stressing that there was no ambiguity in the term.

However, Okutepa, in response, maintained that section 215(3) of the Evidence Act did not preclude him from re-examining the witness while urging the court to allow the question for proper explanation.

After Abdulmalik, agreed and overruled Adedeji, the witness told the court that banks were required to alert the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) about fund deposits coming in a repetitive pattern, adding: “Any deposition of funds seen in a pattern or repetitive, you must escalate it to the NFIU.”

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