Africa-Press – Gambia. Fatoumatta ‘Touma’, Njai, a National Assembly Member of The Gambia, has written to Nigeria’s senate president, Godswill Akpabio, urging the immediate reinstatement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan. Njai described the suspension of the female Kogi State lawmaker as “unlawful” and “a blatant affront to the rule of law.”
In a strongly—worded letter dated 9th September, and copied to all Nigerian senators, international institutions, and the diplomatic corps, Njai condemned the Nigerian senate’s refusal to comply with a federal high court judgment that voided Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension.
A federal high court judge in Abuja had ruled on 4th July, 2025, that the six-month suspension — equivalent to 180 sitting days — was unconstitutional, as it deprived a legislator of their constitutional duty under Section 63 of the 1999 Constitution.
Despite the ruling, Senator Natasha was denied access to the chamber on 22nd July, and the senate has since extended her suspension. Njai said this not only flouted the court’s judgment but also contravened the Senate’s own Standing Orders.
Njai, who chairs the Gender and Children’s Welfare Committee in The Gambia’s parliament and previously served in the Ecowas Parliament, emphasised that Senator Natasha’s suspension undermines her constituents’ rights and threatens the broader struggle for women’s and youths’ political representation in Nigeria and across Africa.
“Senator Natasha represents not only her constituents but also the hopes of millions of women and youths in Nigeria and the world at large. Her exclusion is a denial of the democratic principles that bind Nigeria as a nation,” Njai said.
Closing her letter, she urged the senate leadership to restore Akpoti-Uduaghan’s seat immediately: “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 on the immediate recall of the senator. Justice delayed is justice denied.”
Senator Natasha was suspended after accusing the powerful Senate President Godswill Akpabio, a key ally of President Tinubu of sexual harassment in 2023.
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