A magistrate court in Zuba in Nigeria’s federal capital city Abuja, has dismissed an assault case filed by the Nigerian Police against Adamawa State senator, Elisha Abbo.
Although there is a viral video showing the senator assaulting a woman, Osimibibra Warmate; and a televised press conference in which the lawmaker apologised to the victim, the court dismissed the suit for lack of diligent prosecution by the police.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH2Rj4j7Mq0
The Magistrate, Abdullahi Ilelah, who upheld a no-case submission filed by Senator Abbo, said the police failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the lawmaker indeed assaulted Osimibibra Warmate on May 11, 2019.
During the trial, two witnesses testified against Senator Abbo and they are Warmate who was the nominal complainant and a police officer, ASP Mary Daniel, who investigated the matter.
In her testimony, Warmate said she had gone to visit a friend, Kemi at Pleasure Chest Sex Toy Shop, Banex Plaza, Wuse 2, Abuja on May 11, 2019, when the lawmaker walked in with three women.
She said suddenly, one of the women that accompanied Abbo started vomiting and later fainted.
Warmate said when she left the shop, she received a frantic call from the owner of the shop asking her to come to her aid as the lawmaker had accused her of fouling the shop’s air conditioning system that caused one of his female companions to vomit and was threatening to get her arrested.
The victim said when she returned to the shop and was cleaning up the vomit, two men, one of whom was a policeman in uniform, barged into the shop, assaulted them on the orders of Senator Elisha Abbo.
The court had on July 8, 2020, granted bail to Senator Abbo in the sum of N5million.
The Senator representing Adamawa North Senatorial District was granted bail by a Senior Magistrate Abdullahi Ilellah.
This was after the lawmaker was arraigned by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police at Zuba Magistrate Court, Abuja.
He was granted bail in the sum of N5million and the sureties must have verifiable addresses within the Federal Capital Territory.
The viral video of the Senator Abbo assaulting the lady at the shop was widely criticised by Nigerians on social media.
The situation led to a protest by some Protesters who stormed the National Assembly complex in Abuja demanding the prosecution of the senator.
The protesters including popular activist Aisha Yesufu said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker, must be prosecuted alongside his police orderlies.
The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions, condemning the act of assault and demanding justice.
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