Due to fraud, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan Petitions for Disbarment of Senate Ethics Chairman

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Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who represents Kogi Central in the National Assembly, has started the process of disbarring Senator Nedamwem Imasuen, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, due to accusations that he committed fraud and disregarded a court order.

She submitted a petition to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) last Thursday, which included the motion.

If found guilty of the aforementioned charges, the KogiSenator particularly requests penalty against Imasuen in the March 20 petition that was presented to the LPDC on March 24.

In the petition, Akpoti-Uduaghan asserted that Imasuen had previously been convicted of fraud, misuse of client funds, and noncompliance with disciplinary authorities by the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court.

According to her, on May 10, 2010, the senator from the Edo South Senatorial District was disbarred from the US.

She pledged to present more proof during the hearing and provided the LPDC with a copy of the Justia New York Case Law 2010 to back up her claims.

According to Akpoti-Uduaghan, Imasuen was disbarred when a client, Daphne Slyfield, complained that he had abandoned her case after receiving large legal fees but failing to provide legal services.

The suspended senator added that Imasuen went to Nigeria and carried on practicing law after being disbarred by the US court, which found him guilty of many professional ethical violations and permanently revoked his law license.

“He did not disclose his disbarment either in his Form EC-9 be submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) while contesting for office and eventually became the senator representing Edo South Senatorial District.

She said that the senator from Edo is unsuitable to serve as chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, a role that demands unwavering integrity, due to his history of professional misbehavior.

In a similar vein, Akpoti-Uduaghan requested additional punishment against Imasuen for defying a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja that barred his committee from looking into her for alleged misbehavior at the Senate plenary in February.

A day after the court halted them, on March 4, Justice Obiora Egwuatu issued the order and the committee suggested that she be suspended for six months.

Among exhibits she submitted in support of her petition included, “A copy of the video showing the Respondent openly disregarding the Orders of a court of competent jurisdiction under reference along with the Certificate of Compliance with Section 84 of the Evidence Act is herein annexed as Exhibit NATASHA 6”.

She testified that, “the Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions Committee led by the Respondent proceeded, in blatant disobedience of the said ex-parte order, to conduct its investigation on March 5, 2025 regarding my alleged misconduct during the Senate plenary session of 20 February 2025.

“That in a concerning display of procedural bias, the same Senate committee on Ethics, Privilege and Public Petitions Chaired by the Respondent proceeded with the purported investigation and recommended me for sanctions.

“That the Senate committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions chaired by the Respondent in blatant disregard for the Orders of Court of competent Jurisdiction subsequently submitted its report on findings of its investigation and reported to the committee of a whole of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on March 6, 2025 purporting to suspend me from the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for a duration of 6 months without any of my privilege”.

Akpoti-Uduaghan submitted that “this blatant disobedience of a binding and subsisting court order under a misguided belief constitutes contempt of court and a clear violation of legal ethics, as enshrined in Rule 31 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2023, which mandates that a lawyer shall always treat the Court with respect, dignity, and honour.

“That I know that the comment by the Respondent that “We do not actually pay much reference to this order that came” does not depict respect for the court and the judiciary as whole”.

A lawyer must uphold and observe the rule of law, promote and foster the course of justice, maintain a high standard of professional conduct, and refrain from any conduct that is unworthy of a legal practitioner, according to Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, 2023, the suspended senator said.

She claims that after she filed a petition accusing Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment, Imasuen, in his capacity as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privilege, and Public Petitions, oversaw the proceedings involving her.

“Rather than ensuring a fair and impartial inquiry into the matter, the committee dismissed the petition on procedural grounds, declaring it “dead on arrival” due to the fact I personally signed same and the fact that the matter was sub judice.

“In a concerning display of procedural bias, the Respondent as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privilege and Public Petitions proceeded to entertain a petition, investigate and ultimately sanction me for alleged misconduct, culminating in my six-month suspension from the Senate after acknowledging the existence of an order of court.

“The suspension, which took effect on March 6 2025, included the withdrawal of my salary, allowances, security aides, and access to Senate premises.

“This disciplinary action was taken despite a subsisting interim court order from the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division (Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/384/25), restraining the Senate and its Committee on Ethics, Privilege and Public Petitions from proceeding with any investigation against me pending the determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.

“The committee, under Senator Imasuen’s leadership, explicitly acknowledged receipt of the court order but chose to disregard it, on grounds of a misguided belief that the National Assembly is not subject to legislative supervision by the Judiciary.

“This blatant defiance of a binding order of court constitutes contempt of court and a clear violation of Rules of Professional Conduct, as enshrined in Rule 31 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners (2023)”.

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