THE Court of Appeal in Abuja has sacked Elisha Ishaku Abbo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the Senator representing Adamawa North Senatorial District.
In its ruling on Monday, October 15, the Court declared Amos Yohannah of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the senatorial election.
The three-member panel presided over by Justice C.E. Nwosu-Iheme ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Abbo and give it to Yohanna Kumai.
INEC declared Abbo as senator-elect in February 2023, while Yohanna came second, but Yohanna challenged the outcome in court.
The election petition tribunal had thrown out Yohanna’s plea, claiming it lacked merit.
Through his lawyer, Johnson Usman (SAN), the PDP candidate appealed the tribunal’s verdict at the Appeal Court under appeal number CA/YL/EP/AD/SEN/06/2023.
The Court of Appeal concurred with Usman that, in light of Section 137 of the Electoral Act of 2022, the results showed that the Electoral Act was not followed.
The Court, therefore, took the illegitimate votes away from the candidates and ruled that Yohanna and the PDP had received the majority of valid votes to win the election.
In May 2019, Abbo was caught in viral video assaulting a nursing mother in the presence of a policeman in an adult shop in Abuja.
Following a public outcry, he was later arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Zuba, Abuja, on a one-count charge of assault.
Abdullahi Ilelah, the Magistrate, upheld a no-case submission filed by the lawmaker and dismissed the case despite video evidence.
However, Osimibibra Warmate, the lady she assaulted, instituted a separate civil suit at the FCT High Court. On September 28, Samira Bature, the presiding judge, convicted Abbo and ordered him to pay N50 million as compensation to the woman.
Abbo was again caught in a viral video assaulting a young man in 2020.
The video, seen by The ICIR on Twitter, was posted by Debo Adebayo, a Nigerian comedian known as Mr. Marcaroni.
In the video, he slapped a young man repeatedly and shouted at the top of his voice, “You are very stupid.”
A reporter with the ICIR
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