By Uche Amunike
The Nigerian Senate is currently making moves to enforce tougher disciplinary measures against its erring members.
The first reading of a bill seeking to amend the current framework for punishing erring lawmakers was passed, Tuesday, by the 109 members of the Nigerian Senate.
The proposed legislation which is titled: Legislative Houses (Powers And Privileges) Act (Amendment) Bill 2025, was sponsored by lawmaker representing Borno Central under the aegis of the APC, Kaka shehu.
The bill seeks to introduce tougher penalties for lawmakers found guilty of misconduct and streamline the existing process which often Involves setting up special committees to investigate and recommend sanctions.
The proposed amendments is also meant to ensure that specific offenses attract clearly stated punishments without the need for prolonged deliberations or ad hoc investigations.
Speaking, with newsmen after the bill passed its first reading, Mr. Shehu explained that the amendment seeks to ‘tighten disciplinary measures and other related matters against other legislative procedures.‘
Even though the draft of the amendment is yet to be made public, the development is coming at a time that Nigerians are debating legislative discipline, especially after a recent court ruling against the suspension of one of its members, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents PDP, Kogi Central, by the Nigerian Senate.
The Federal High Court in Abuja ruled on Friday, that the six-month suspension imposed on Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was unlawful and excessive.
Recall that she was suspended in March 2025 for alleged misconduct during a plenary session on February 20. The suspension was unanimously endorsed by her colleagues on the basis of the recommendation made by the Senate committee on ethics, privileges and public petitions. However, she challenged it in court.
In the ruling, the judge, Binta Nyako said that suspending an elected senator for six months was equivalent to denying representation to a constituency for the duration of a legislative year.
She ruled that such a penalty violated the provisions of the Legislative Houses (Powers And Privileges) Act which outlines a far less severe disciplinary duration.
Even though she ruled in the favor of Akpoti-Uduaghan on the suspension, the court found her guilty of civil contempt for the satirical Facebook post she made on 27 April while the suit was still pending. Consequently, the judge awarded a fine of N5 million against her and directed her to issue an apology in two national newspapers and on her Facebook page within seven days of the ruling.
The courts also refused to jail her because the offense was civil and not criminal.
Order 66(8) of the Senate Standing Orders empowers the Senate President to direct a suspended Senator to withdraw, with the duration to get determined by the Senate, but still within the bounds of existing law.
According to the order: ‘If a Senator be suspended under the provisions of this rule, he shall be directed by the President of the Senate to withdraw. His suspension shall last until determined by the Senate.’
If passed, the amendment bill could reshape how discipline is enforced in the country’s highest legislative chamber by ensuring that specific offenses attract clearly defined punishments without the need for prolonged deliberations or ad hoc investigations.
The bill will undergo second reading in the coming weeks, so that senators will debate its merits and possible implications on legislative autonomy, fairness and democratic representation.
It will be sent to a committee that will hold a public hearing after the second reading. They may recommend the bill move to the third reading stage for the final passage.
