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The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, the federal capital, this Monday afternoon, October 16, 2023, voided the election of the lawmaker representing Adamawa North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Ishaku Abbo.
Senator Abbo, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), had his election voided in favour of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Amos Yohanna.
The youngest senator in the country, Abbo made news when he slapped a nursing mother repeatedly at a sex toy shop in Abuja on May 11, 2019.
He was said to have entered a sex toy shop around 6pm, with three young women to purchase adult toys.
“But,” according to a report, “shortly after they began shopping for the toys, one of the three girls started throwing up. She vomited multiple times, prompting the shop owner to remark that the woman should have vomited outside and not inside her shop.
“Abbo, who was said to be agitated by the sudden illness of the girl, was said to have accused the shop owner of poisoning the store’s air conditioner.
“The shop owner’s argument that if the air conditioner had been contaminated others in the shop would have also taken ill was said to have angered Abbo, and the two began exchanging words over the matter.
“The senator was said to have called a policeman who he then ordered to arrest the shop owner.
“The shop owner quickly called her father to inform him that Abbo had called police over the matter and that she was about to be taken away.
“The shop owner’s friend who had been standing nearby tried to intervene by pleading with the second man to take things easy but was slapped repeatedly by the lawmaker.”
Though Abbo apologiaed over the incident, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on September 28, 2020 ordered him to pay N50 million to the victim, Osimibibra Warmate, for assault.
Few months ago, Abbo came out as the face of the opposition to Senator Godswill Akpabio’s management of the Senate.
A three-member panel presided over by Justice C.E. Nwosu-Iheme, in the judgment, ordered the Indeoendent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a Certificate of Return to Rev. Amos Yohanna of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as validly elected lawmaker for the senatorial district.
INEC had, on Feb. 25, declared Mr Abbo as the winner of the senatorial poll.
Dissatisfied with the declaration, Yohana and the PDP filed a petition before the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal sitting in Yola, Adamawa State challenging the return of Abbo.
The tribunal, in its judgment, dismissed the Yohanna’s petition for lacking in merit.
Further dissatisfied with the tribunal’s decision, the PDP’s candidate, through his counsel Johnson Usman,SAN approached the Appeal Court to sack Abbo via appeal number: CA/YL/EP/AD/SEN/06/2023 between Rev. Amos Kumai Yohanna and another Vs Ishaku Elisha Cliff and others.
The Court of Appeal, after hearing arguments from parties, agreed with Mr Usman that based on Section 137 of the Electoral Act, 2022, the results tendered clearly showed that there was no compliance with the Electoral Act.
The court, thereafter, deducted the invalid votes from the parties and found that Yohanna and PDP won the election by majority of lawful votes.
The court proceeded to set aside the Certificate of Return issued to Abbo and ordered INEC to issue same to Yohanna as the valid winner of the election representing Adamawa North Senatorial District.
Reacting to the judgment that sacked Abbo, Mr Sam Ologunorisa, SAN, said he had nothing to say since “the Court of Appeal is the final court.”
When contacted on his reaction to the judgment, lawyer to the APC, Mr Michael Numa, SAN, said he had nothing to say until he sees the judgment.
“I was not in court when the judgment was delivered. So, I will have to see the judgment before I can comment on it,” he said.
Other members of the panel include Justice M.I SIRAJO and Justuce O.A ADEGBHINDE.
