Although the Judiciary never ceases to amuse Nigerians with its controversial positions on important national issues, the July 31, 2020 controversial court verdict that acquitted the psychopathic Adamawa thug called Senator Elisha Cliff Abbo from the gender-based assault and violence charges brought against him by Ms. Osimibibra Warmate, is bizarre and ridiculous; and certainly a sad commentary on the Nigerian judiciary; to which much has been entrusted and from which much is expected. The greatest tragedy is that the verdict, once again, defeated the expectation of Nigerians, and what this suggests is that, it should be appealed and over-turned in the interest of justice. The ruling was a breath-taking display of arrogant impertinence and self-aggrandizing recklessness a clear case of intentional injustice by Magistrate Abdullahi Ilelah. His action is an aberration that ridicules Nigeria in the comity of nations as a country with highly dysfunctional institutions where bizarre things can happen. The National Judicial Council and the Nigerian Bar Association must wade into this judicial misconduct.
The facts of the case are straight and simple from the video footage that went viral on social media. On Saturday May 11, 2019, then Senator-elect Abbo arrived at a sex gadgets shop in Banex Plaza, Wuse 2, Abuja, in the company of three young ladies. As the three girls and Abbo were sampling the sex toys to see which ones will do the job best, one of the girls threw up, messing up the whole place. The shop owner, a lady, was angry, saying she should have vomited outside. In defence of the vomiting, Abbo accused the shop owner of poisoning the store’s air conditioner. The lady punctured Abbo’s argument, pointing out that if the air condition had been contaminated other people in the shop would have been affected. Feeling disrespected, Abbo then flew into a rage and an altercation ensured between them. But as he tried to assault the shop owner, one of her staff, a nursing mother; intervened pleading to Abbo to spare her boss.
In a clear case of transfer aggression, Abbo in a fit of sociopathic madness, descended on the peacemaker, raining what is known in Nigeria as “dirty slaps” One dirty slap followed another and it looked like a slapping festival. And while the slapping went on, Abbo’s security detail; a policeman in uniform stood by watching as the hapless a nursing mother was being assaulted and battered by a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The police officer in an unpardonable act of complicity just stood there without restraining the irresponsible Senator from his criminal indulgence. As if that was not bad enough, the policeman stood there as a Slapping Supervisor (SS), and refused to use the full powers of his office to intervene in the interest of peace. He reportedly gave Senator Abbo a smart salute for his aberrant and abhorrent behavior. The assault was disgraceful, shameful, indecorous and bereft of any perfunctory exaggeration; even more so, as it was caught on tape.
Abbo’s offence is compounded by the fact that his victim is a woman; a nursing mother. To the extent that such a callous and meaningless display of brute force and naked power expose the Senate and the institution of the National Assembly to ridicule and public contempt, the expectation was that the reprehensible conduct of Senator Abbo must not be allowed to go unpunished since his conflicting statements over what transpired, including his tepid and belated apology was a prima facie admission of guilt. Therefore, it stretches credulity to explain Justice Ilelah’s pugnacious bellicosity and his miscarriage of justice.
At trial, the victim, Ms. Warmate’s testimony was graphic, detailed, and corroborated by camera footage. Yet despite her psychological emasculation, emotional anguish, abuse, public humiliation, and gender oppression, Magistrate Ilelah dismissed all the charges saying: “the evidence and exhibits tendered did not disclose a prima facie case of the alleged crime of criminal force and assault against the defendant Abbo. The prosecution’s case centered on the oral evidence of PW1 (Ms. Warmate) and the two discs contained CCTV footage of the incident and alleged video clip of an apology from the defendant Abbo…The medical report of Mega Sight Eye Clinic did not disclose in detail what happened to the victim and Dr. Ambrose Ibegbule who wrote the report was not called as a witness.” The court also said the video of the press conference showing Senator Abbo apologizing was not tantamount to an admission of guilt as it was not a confessional statement. Magistrate Ilelah added that the testimony of the victim was “so weak because the allegation has not been substantiated in any material particular” and the police did not do a proper investigation as it relied solely on the statement of the victim.”
The sordid affair and the circumstances surrounding the assault are plainly egregious in its insanity. But in his ridiculous judgement, Magistrate Ilelah normalized and legitimized violence against women. That Ilelah goofed is an understatement. The reasoning behind the judgment is nebulous, objectionable, unconvincing and lacks credibility. The truth is that ignoring the ocular evidence – the video tape and dismissing the victim’s testimony and Abbo’s own apology and confession reinforces public perception that Magistrate Ilelah was merely laboring for excuses. In all, what the judgment has done is to authenticate a miscarriage of justice against the assaulted victim, in a manner that calls to question the integrity of the judiciary. Public confidence in the judiciary has been on the decline and it appears to have reached the nadir as judges can no longer be trusted with the dispensation of justice.
The magnitude of corruption has made the judiciary a laughing stock, an object of ridicule and public opprobrium; as public trust in the justice system has waned considerably. The role of judges and magistrates as guarantors of democracy has become a huge avenue for self-aggrandizement because the powers which are supposed to be exercised judiciously have fallen prey to extraneous factors such as offer of gratification and feeling of obligation for favors received from clients. Cynics now rightly say that judges are as good as political appointees, indebted to their political godfathers and so the courts have become not the last hope but the final albatross of the common man. It is hard to believe that a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria would descend to such level. Abbo practically betrayed his love of violence and lack of respect for women. At a time when Nigeria is facing rising cases of violence against women, it is unacceptable that a Senator aught on camera assaulting a woman will be let go scot-free by the courts. Only in Nigeria can such a thing happen!
The ruling is more than just an insult to the woman Abbo assaulted. The main lesson to draw from this insane judicial misconduct is the entrenchment of impunity by the ruling elite who see themselves as above the law. The Nigerian judiciary is yet to rise above its many challenges and many judges have been publicly rebuked and sanctioned for abuse of office. The public indignation occasioned by this bizarre judgment and others like that leaves Nigerians feeling outraged at the way the judiciary has been turned to a haven of sorts for corrupt officials who no longer worry about their arraignment in court. Nigerians are bewildered by a system that makes itself vulnerable to all sorts of abuse and manipulation potent enough to asphyxiate justice. The verdict that acquitted Senator Elisha Abbo is a slap on the face of the Nigerian judiciary and is unacceptable.
