A lawyer, Ken Harries, has argued that suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of trying to have it both ways by appealing a court judgment while also attempting to enforce it.
Mr Harries made the point on Tuesday while reacting to Akpoti-Uduaghan’s visit to the National Assembly earlier in the day. The senator, who represents Kogi Central, had stormed the complex claiming she wanted to enforce a Federal High Court judgment that she said ordered her recall.
According to Harries, her actions amounted to lawlessness.
“In my many years in legal practice, I have not seen such a display of lawlessness from a supposed federal lawmaker,” Harries said.
“How do you invade the National Assembly with a group of touts, claiming to want to enforce a judgment? There are procedures for judgment enforcement. It is not for an individual to take the law into his or her own hands, create a crisis atmosphere on the pretext of wanting to enforce a judgment.”
The Federal High Court in Abuja delivered the judgment in question on July 4, 2025. However, Harries pointed out that Akpoti-Uduaghan herself filed an appeal against the ruling about a week ago. She had asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the verdict, saying she was not satisfied with it.
Harries questioned why Akpoti-Uduaghan would now attempt to enforce the same judgment she is trying to overturn.
“How do you enforce a judgment that you have said you are not satisfied with, condemned, appealed, and prayed the Court of Appeal to reverse?” he asked.
He also noted that the judgment included other orders against her, including a fine of N5 million and a directive to publish a public apology in two national newspapers and on her Facebook page.
“If she has failed to obey the same judgment by not complying with the orders made against her, what moral standing does she have to accuse the leadership of the Senate of being lawless?” Harries asked.
He advised that her legal team should counsel her to act within the law.
“Whoever goes to equity must go with clean hands,” Harries said.
