The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, has ordered the arrest of the Senator Elisha Abbo and his police aide for allegedly assaulting a nursing mother who is a sales girl in a sex toy shop in Abuja. Investigations are currently ongoing at the Federal Capital Territory police by an investigative team set up by the Police Force headquarters in Abuja. The Police said they were doing everything within their powers to restore dignity to the force, following the conduct of the police orderly attached to the senator.
The arrest order came as Nigerians, opposition party members and human rights activists raised their voices in calling for the resignation of Senator Elisha Cliff Abbo, (PDP-Adamawa North) after it emerged that he lied about been physically assaulted while he was beating a woman at a sex toy shop, Pleasure Chest, Abuja, where the senator had gone to make purchases; police sources told Huhuonline.com. The attack went viral after a video recorded by the Close Circuit Television (CCTV), installed in the shop was shared on the social media; an act which embarrassed the police authorities. Critics called on the Senate to discipline Abbo, but others asked for his immediate arrest and arraignment.
The senator claimed the roughly 10-minute video was incomplete, claiming he was at the shop because his sister had been assaulted there and that part was left out. “It was my sister that was at the store and she was assaulted; in fact, she fainted in the shop but they compressed the video and cut that part out of it. They took her out to resuscitate her, the one standing with a cap is a doctor; the doctor had to come to give her life. My sister is not in the video, it was completely cropped out of it,” Abbo insisted, saying he wants the release of the full recording. Abbo confirmed he is the man in the video assaulting a woman, but told Channels Television on Wednesday morning that he too was assaulted.
But Abbo’s version of events was contradicted by sources who told Huhuonline.com that the senator was lying through his teeth. “Who could have attacked a senator in the company of a policeman,” the source who is a family relation to the shop owner, asked rhetorically? The source narrated that Sen Abbo came with his entourage, and while they were attending to them, “the lady with the senator started complaining that something was smelling awful in the shop and was trying to make a case out of it. But the sales girl that was slapped was maintaining her stand that nothing was smelling and tried to make a joke that maybe it was someone’s hair that was smelling,” the source said.
Sen Abbo apparently interpreted the suggestion that his partner’s hair was smelling as a personal affront and went berserk, the source noted. In footage obtained from the ensuing altercation, Abbo was seen slapping an unknown woman after she pleaded with him not to assault the shop attendant. In the video, Sen. Abbo slapped the lady more than five times and ordered his police aide to walk her out of the shop. The video of the assault, said to have taken place on May 11, went viral on social media, sparking a wave of indignation among politicians, celebrities, human rights activists and advocacy groups. Critics are calling for Abbo’s prosecution and urging the Senate to discipline him.
The Senate Wednesday set up a bi-partisan committee to investigate the assault. Senate president Ahmed Lawan in a tweet said: “the constitution of the committee is in line with my resolve to lead a National Assembly that is not only responsible but responsive to the people we represent.” The committee was given two weeks to submit its report. Also, the Nigeria Police Wednesday said it will open an investigation. “IGP orders comprehensive and holistic investigation into the incident of an alleged assault on a female Nigerian by Senator Elisha Abbo,” the force tweeted.
But Festus Keyamo, (SAN) asked the police to arrest Abbo immediately given the available video evidence that he committed the offence. “The case of Senator Elisha Abbo is very straightforward,” Keyamo said. “The police must immediately take three steps: first, arrest him (no formal complaint is needed with the evidence on tape). Secondly, obtain his statement (if he’s willing to make one) and that of the victim and thirdly arraign him in court,” Keyamo added.
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 presidential election, former vice president Atiku Abubakar asked the party to sanction Senator Abbo. “I’ve seen the alleged assault video involving Sen. Elisha Abbo. The video is sad, inexcusable,” Atiku said on Twitter. “I know the Senator quite well. But the law is clear and leaders must lead by example,” Atiku said in a statement on Wednesday. “I advise him to publicly apologize, voluntarily go to the police and show a good example expected of a young leader. I also call on our party, to take necessary disciplinary action and the police to ensure the law take its full course,” he added.
The PDP National Working Committee (NWC) has summoned Senator Abbo, saying “the party as a law-abiding and upstanding party detests and completely condemn such act of lawlessness and callousness as exhibited in the video and will therefore never condone it. The PDP, at all levels of engagement, is reputed for her utmost respect and commitment towards the rights, safety and wellbeing of our citizens particularly our women and cannot tolerate any callous assault on any Nigerian. Our party is also shocked that the harmless victim of the unprovoked assault is said to be a nursing mother, who ought to be protected,” noted a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan.
“Though this is a personal conduct of an individual which has no bearing with the culture of our party, the PDP however holds that no responsible person will condone such an attitude.” The spokesperson of PDP said in light of this, “the NWC has commenced investigation into the matter and summoned Senator Elisha Abbo in line with the provisions of the Constitution of the PDP and code of conduct of our members. In the same vein, the party has taken note of the immediate action taken by the Senate. The PDP therefore assures Nigerians that it will always stand on the side of justice and will never spare a thought in taking action on any of its members found wanting, particularly those elected or appointed into public office.”
Senator Abbo however continues to insist that he too was the victim. The Senator in an interview with Channels Television claimed his sister was beaten at the shop and he was assaulted on arrival at the scene in May, while he was a senator-elect after the elections. “As I said before we will release a robust response to everything, and we will also ask for the entire video to be released since they have the video. We will seat and discuss the video. Just to be clear that video was taken long before now and it was released just as this point,” he told Channels TV.
