A court in Abuja has ruled that Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan should be allowed to return to her job at the Senate. She was suspended for six months, but the court says that punishment was too harsh.

Justice Binta Nyako gave the ruling on Thursday, July 4. The senator was suspended earlier in March after she had a disagreement with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio. The judge said the suspension was too long and unfair.

Justice Nyako also criticized the laws used to suspend her. She said that the rules—Section 14 of the Legislative Houses Powers & Privileges Act and Chapter 8 of the Senate Standing Orders—gave too much power and didn’t clearly say how long a lawmaker can be suspended.

The court pointed out that lawmakers usually sit for about 181 days in a year. Suspending Senator Natasha for six months means she would miss almost all of her time to serve the people who voted for her. The judge said that while the Senate can discipline its members, it shouldn’t do it in a way that stops them from doing their job or representing their constituents.

However, the court did agree with Senate President Akpabio on one thing. It said he was right not to allow Senator Natasha to speak during plenary since she wasn’t sitting in her assigned seat at the time.

Finally, the judge dismissed Akpabio’s argument that the court had no power to hear the case. She said the matter wasn’t just an internal Senate issue, and the court had every right to step in.

This ruling means Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan should return to her role in the Senate and continue serving the people of Kogi Central.