Gambiaj.com – (Banjul, The Gambia) – Gambian National Assembly Member Hon. Fatoumatta Njie has strongly condemned the Nigerian Senate’s continued suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, describing it as “unlawful” and a “blatant affront to the rule of law.”
In a letter dated September 9, 2025, and addressed to Nigerian Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Njie demanded the immediate reinstatement of the Kogi lawmaker, whose suspension was already declared unconstitutional by a Federal High Court in July.
The letter was also copied to all Nigerian senators, the diplomatic corps, and international institutions.
Justice B.F.M. Nyako ruled on July 4 that the six-month suspension imposed on Akpoti-Uduaghan violated Section 63 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, which guarantees lawmakers the right to perform their legislative duties.
However, despite the ruling, the senator was barred from entering the chamber on July 22, and her suspension has since been extended.
Citing the July 4 ruling by Justice B.F.M. Nyako, who found a six-month suspension “excessive and overreaching” because it prevents a senator from fulfilling constitutional duties under Section 63, Njie condemned the Senate’s refusal to admit Akpoti-Uduaghan on July 22, weeks after the suspension lapsed.
“Today it is the distinguished Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan; tomorrow it could be me,” Njie wrote in her letter to Nigeria’s Senate President. “The Senate should be seen to obey the courts. In law, one must obey orders first, then challenge them if necessary.”
Touma Njie warned that the continued exclusion of Akpoti-Uduaghan after a court judgment overturning her suspension undermines the rule of law and Nigeria’s democratic credibility in West Africa.
“The Senate should know that leadership is not about silencing voices, especially those who dare to speak truth with courage and integrity,” Njie wrote. “The fact that Senator Natasha’s only crime was to speak truth to power is a strong signal of the Senate’s move in silencing dissenting voices.”
Hon. Njie, who chairs The Gambia’s parliamentary Gender and Children’s Welfare Committee and is a former member of the ECOWAS Parliament, stressed that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension undermines her constituents’ rights while also setting back the struggle for women and youth representation across Africa.
Calling Nigeria “the parent nation within ECOWAS,” she urged Nigerian lawmakers to respect democratic values and obey the court’s judgment.
“Today it is the distinguished Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan; tomorrow it could be me,” she warned. “I believe that after the six months of unlawful suspension, she must be reinstated with immediate effect. The Senate should have been seen to respect the court’s judgment. Instead, it has blatantly refused to obey.”
Njie further argued that no party has the right to defy a valid court order while pursuing appeals, noting that Akpoti-Uduaghan represents not only her constituents but also “the hopes of millions of women and youth in Nigeria and the world at large.”
Issuing a final appeal to Senate leadership, Njie concluded, “The six months is over. As a woman in leadership, a woman that respects the rule of law and yearns for more women in elective positions, I firmly call for the immediate recall of the senator. Justice delayed is justice denied.”
