Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied – Gambian Lawmaker Demands Immediate Recall Of Senator Natasha
A member of The Gambia’s National Assembly, Hon. Fatoumatta Njai, has written to the President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, demanding the immediate reinstatement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, describing her prolonged suspension as “unlawful” and “a blatant affront to the rule of law.”
In a letter dated September 9, 2025, and copied to all Nigerian senators, diplomatic corps, and international institutions, Njai criticised the Senate’s refusal to obey a Federal High Court judgment that voided the suspension of the Kogi lawmaker.
Justice B.F.M. Nyako, on July 4, 2025, declared the six-month suspension, equivalent to 180 sitting days, unconstitutional, stressing it violated Section 63 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees lawmakers the right to perform their legislative duties.
However, despite the ruling, Akpoti-Uduaghan was barred from entering the chamber on July 22, and the Senate has since extended her suspension.
Njai said the action not only flouted a valid court judgment but also contradicted the Senate’s own Standing Orders.
She wrote, “The Senate should know that leadership is not about silencing voices, especially those who dare to speak truth with courage and integrity. 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.”
The Gambian lawmaker, who chairs the Gender and Children’s Welfare Committee in her country’s parliament and is a former member of the ECOWAS Parliament, stressed that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s suspension undermined her constituents’ rights and threatened the struggle for women and youth representation across Africa.
Calling Nigeria “the parent nation within ECOWAS,” Njai urged lawmakers to respect democratic values and immediately comply with the court judgment.
“Today it is the distinguished Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan; tomorrow it could be me. 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,” she wrote.
Njai further argued that under legal principles, no party is permitted to defy a court order while pursuing appeals.
Senator Natasha represents not only her constituents but also the hopes of millions of women and youth in Nigeria and the world at large. Her exclusion is a denial of the democratic principles that bind Nigeria as a nation,” she said.
Njai issued a strong appeal to Senate leadership, added, “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.”
