Court Injunction: Try Another Strategy, You’re Coming Home, Group Tells Natasha

Kogi Central indigenes have described the court injunction obtained by the lawmaker representing the Senatorial District, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission from receiving a petition for her recall, as a sign that “she has realised that she is as good as gone.”

A Federal High Court in Lokoja had granted an interim injunction restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from receiving, accepting or acting on “purported petitions” submitted containing fictitious signatures and names of members of Kogi Central Senatorial District for the recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The order was granted by Justice Isa H.Dashen in suit no: FHC/LKJ/CS/13/2025 upon a motion ex parte dated March 19, 2025 and filed on March 20, 2025.

The suit filed by five applicants, Anebe Jacob Ogirima, John Adebisi, Musa Siyaka Adeiza, Hon. Ahmed Usman and Maleek Yahaya against INEC, followed moves by some members of the constituency to initiate the recall process of Senator Natasha.

In a statement released on Friday by the Kogi Central Renaissance Assembly, the constituents claimed that desperation had pushed the senator to describe the recall signatures as fictitious, saying that should have been left for INEC to unravel during its verification exercise.

“It is laughable that the same person who has called the recall process a sham is the same person that has gone to tell the court to restrain the electoral umpire from receiving or acting on the petition, even when she says the signatures are fictitious.

“We understand your plight. This is last-minute desperation to save yourself the embarrassment of a recall. But we, Constituents of Kogi Central, insist that you have already embarrassed both yourself and the District, and home you shall come.

“The courts are for everybody. You can’t force yourself on us. Even you should know that this your course of action is dead on arrival,” the statement, signed by the Coordinator, KCRA, Adeku Joshua; and Secretary, Maleek Sule, said.

The Kogi Central indigenes insisted that they would follow the recall process through in order to redeem their image, the image of the state and that of Nigeria at large.

“We, Ebiras, are not enablers of blackmail and unruly behaviour. We stand by this recall and will see it through. The world should know that we are people of integrity. Enough of embarrassing the entire country on the world stage over ridiculous allegations backed by no evidence,” they declared.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State had, on Friday, granted an interim injunction restraining INEC, its staff, or agents from receiving, accepting, or acting on any petition containing “fictitious signatures of purported members of the Kogi Central Senatorial District” for the recall of what Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan.