Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has withdrawn from the case involving suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, citing a petition from Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, who was assigned to hear the case, announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down.
His decision came after Senate President Godswill Akpabio filed a petition challenging his impartiality.
Although the case was scheduled for hearing, when the court clerk called it up, the judge said he was stepping aside.
He said he would return the case file to the Chief Judge, who would assign it to another judge.
On March 4, Justice Egwuatu issued an interim order stopping the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions from proceeding with disciplinary actions against Akpoti-Uduaghan.
She was accused of violating Senate rules.
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The judge ruled that the disciplinary process should not continue until the case was decided.
He also gave the defendants 72 hours to explain why the court should not stop them from investigating the senator without following the rules laid out in the 1999 Constitution, the Senate Standing Order 2023, and the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu had initially permitted Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan to serve legal documents on the defendants through substituted means. The court directed that the documents be delivered to the Clerk of the National Assembly, pasted at the National Assembly premises, or published in two national newspapers.
This interim order followed an urgent application filed by the senator. However, despite the ruling, the Senate Committee proceeded with its meeting and suspended her for six months.
Subsequently, the defendants applied for a modification of the court’s directive, prompting Justice Egwuatu to revise his earlier order. He removed the restriction that barred the Senate from taking action while the case was ongoing.
Meanwhile, Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s legal team, led by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, challenged the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that it lacked the authority to intervene in Senate affairs.
