Senator Abbo detained overnight as police are forced to act over his repeated violence

ADAMAWA North Senatorial District lawmaker Senator Elisha Abbo spent last night in police custody as he was detained and grilled at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command over his assault on an Abuja shopkeeper earlier this year.

In March, Senator Abbo repeatedly slapped a nursing mother who was at the till in an Abuja sex shop where he and three ladies had gone to purchase several items. His assault was captured on CCTV and over the last week, it has been released on social media, attracting widespread condemnation.

Feeling the pressure after his party and the senate both announced that they would be investigating the assault, Senator Abbo was forced to offer a public apology. However, the police have also been under pressure to act, so invited the senator to force headquarters in Abuja yesterday to answer questions about the violence.

Upon arriving, Senator Abbo was taken into custody and interrogated. FCT police commissioner, Bala Ciroma, confirmed that Senator  Abbo was questioned and taken into custody.

He added:  “We have questioned him and he is in our custody but I can’t say if he would be released today.  It depends on the extent of our investigations and on our discretion and how far we have gone with the investigation.”

Apparently, inspector-general of police Mohammed Adamu, had asked Mr Ciroma to undertake a forensic investigation of the CCTV footage while a police officer looked on. The probe was also expected to unravel why the policeman who was at the scene failed to prevent the assault on the nursing mother.

Meanwhile, Senator Abbo has been drawn into a fresh scandal after a photojournalist, Olumuyiwa Owolabi, accused him of assault and breach of agreement. Mr Owolabi said that Senator Abbo not only assaulted him but got the police to lock him up in Adamawa State in 2014.