The Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions has dismissed a petition filed on behalf of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, citing an ongoing court case as the reason for its decision.
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The petition, written by Mr. Zubairu Yakubu, a constituent of Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, was thrown out after the committee ruled that it could not deliberate on matters that were already subject to litigation.
The dismissal of the petition, however, was not without controversy. Tensions flared as Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi (APC – Ebonyi South) and former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, clashed over the handling of sexual harassment allegations.
The heated exchange escalated when Dr. Ezekwesili and other attendees refused to take an oath before the hearing, prompting Senator Nwebonyi to launch a verbal attack.
“You are an insult to womanhood, a hooligan. People like you are not supposed to be here,” Nwebonyi fumed, visibly angered by Ezekwesili’s refusal to comply with the committee’s procedure.
In response, Dr. Ezekwesili accused the Senate of undermining democratic principles and placing its internal rules above the Nigerian Constitution.
“The Nigerian Senate keeps telling citizens they are subject to Senate rules, even when those rules violate the Constitution. This is unacceptable in a democracy,” she asserted.
Ezekwesili argued that Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, the embattled Kogi Central lawmaker who has been suspended for six months, was denied a fair hearing. She emphasized that procedural loopholes were being used to suppress opposition voices.
“The Senate placed its own rules above the laws of the land. Now, with this petitioner, they have done the same thing—using procedural loopholes to avoid addressing critical issues,” she added.
Further fueling concerns of bias, Yakubu, the petitioner, questioned the neutrality of the committee’s chairman, Senator Imasuen, who had previously dismissed Akpoti-Uduaghan’s petition as ‘dead on arrival.’
Yakubu expressed frustration that the committee refused to allow the suspended senator to testify, even though she possessed crucial documentary evidence to support the claims made in the petition.
“In my petition, I clearly stated that my witness would present her evidence personally. But she was not allowed into the premises. If my key witness is denied access, how can I proceed with my case?” Yakubu lamented.
His counsel, Dr. Abiola Akinyode, further criticized the inconsistencies in the Senate’s handling of petitions. “There is nothing in Yakubu’s petition that was not in Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan’s original petition. If the Senate dismissed her petition as ‘dead on arrival,’ then logically, Yakubu’s should also be dismissed,” she argued.
Akinyode also challenged the committee’s justification for rejecting the petition, noting that they could have simply informed the petitioner in writing rather than calling him to testify, only to dismiss the matter due to its ongoing litigation.
“If they knew the case was in court, they should have simply written to the petitioner stating they could not entertain it. Instead, they invited him, only to dismiss the petition on the basis that it was already in court,” she pointed out.
The controversy surrounding the committee’s decision has reignited debates over the Senate’s handling of sensitive petitions, with critics warning that unchecked procedural tactics could erode public trust in the legislative body.
Whether this latest episode will prompt any institutional reforms remains to be seen, but for now, the storm surrounding the Senate’s ethics committee is far from over.