The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Nigerian Senate to apologise to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan over what it described as a violation of her human rights.
In a statement posted on its X page yesterday, SERAP welcomed Akpoti-Uduaghan’s return to the Senate, stressing that she should never have been suspended merely for peacefully exercising her rights.
The organisation added that an official apology would form part of the redress due to Akpoti-Uduaghan, as well as to her constituency, which had been denied effective representation.
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“Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Senate must immediately apologise to Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, and the people of her Kogi Central constituency for the blatant violations of her human rights.
“The apology would be part of providing redress to Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan for the violations of her human rights and the right of her constituency to effective representation”, SERAP noted.
The organisation also called on Akpabio to immediately ensure that Akpoti-Uduaghan receives all her outstanding salaries and allowances.
SERAP urged both Akpabio and the Senate to provide clear guarantees of non-recurrence and to make such commitments public.
It further stressed that Akpabio and the Senate must pledge to uphold Akpoti-Uduaghan’s human rights and allow her to freely discharge her legislative and other duties.
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“No one should ever be punished for ‘speaking without permission’. Being a senator does not deprive Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan of her fundamental human rights.
“The Senate should be setting an example by upholding the rule of law and promoting and protecting fundamental human rights, not stamping them out. A higher degree of tolerance is expected when it is a political speech, and an even higher threshold is required when it is directed towards government officials, including members of the Senate”, SERAP added.
