Headlines
My Slapping Incident Occurred in March, Sen Abbo Defended as Nigerians React
By Eric Elezuo
The senator representing Adamawa North senatorial zone in the National Assembly, Elisha Abbo, has defended that the trending video depicting him slapping a nursing mother repeated was shot in March. The 41 years old senator, who is the youngest in the Senate, says he is putting his team together, and will give a ‘robust response’ to the story soon.
Reacting to the incident, Abbo said the incident portrayed in the video showing him beating up a lady in a sex toy shop occurred in March 2019.
Abbo reacted in a message sent to Punch correspondent, “Hello Eniola, I saw your message and I am aware of the report. I am putting my team together. I am aware that the thing happened around March this year but I will get in touch with you when we finish discussion. I am in a meeting now.”
The senator has attracted criticisms from Nigerians after being caught on video posted by Premium Times, slapping a nursing mother repeatedly at a sex toy shop in the Wuse 2 area of Abuja.
The assault, which reportedly occurred on May 11, 2019, was done in the presence of an armed policeman who rather than assist the victim, arrested her.
BACKGROUND
Report has it that Abbo entered the shop around 6pm. with three young women to purchase adult toys.
But 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.
REACTIONS
Meanwhile, the video has sparked outrage on social media.
On Twitter, the lawmaker is trending under #SenatorElishaAbbo.
Mr Marcus tweeted, “You can see the motor park behaviour of a so-called Senator Elisha Abbo. You are a beast and you need to be behind bars.”
Another Twitter user, Confidence Jonah, expressed shock that a policeman was complicit in the assault.
For Jack Obinyan, Abbo must be suspended indefinitely from the 9th National Assembly and prosecuted with immediate effect.
Muhd El-Bonga Ibrahim tweeted, “These are the kind of people we elect as lawmakers shamelessly slapping a sales employee multiple times. This is an embarrassment not only to Senator Elisha Abbo but the Senate as an institution and he is currently the youngest. The committee on ethics needs to act.”
The senator was elected under the platform of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), on Thursday, published a list of 9, 532 alleged land title debtors in Abuja, giving them a two-week ultimatum to settle their outstanding bills.
The list, which includes prominent individuals and government agencies, was published on November 26, with defaulters expected to pay for their certificate of occupancy (C-of- O) within the stipulated timeframe.
Among those listed as defaulters is former Head of State, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB), who owes N152 million for a plot of land in Asokoro, a highbrow area in the nation’s capital. IBB, who ruled Nigeria from 1985 to 1993, is not the only high-profile individual on the list.
Other notable defaulters include Samuel Ortom, former governor of Benue, who owes N950,000 for a plot of land in Bazango, and Aminu Tambuwal, senator representing Sokoto south, who owes N18 million for a plot of land in Carraway Dallas.
The FCTA has threatened to revoke the land titles of defaulters who fail to settle their bills within the stipulated timeframe. The administration has urged defaulters to settle their bills by e-payment to the “FCT department of land administration” account.
In addition to individual defaulters, some federal agencies, including the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the navy, and police, were also named as defaulters.
The Lagos governor’s lodge in Asokoro, the Kaduna state government, and ‘State House Abuja’ were also listed as land title debtors.
This development is not the first time the FCTA has taken steps to recover outstanding debts from landowners. In June this year, the administration set up a committee to recover over N29 billion owed by property owners.
The committee has since identified 430 individuals and organisations as defaulters, with plans to prosecute them.
The FCTA has also partnered with anti-graft agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to check the activities of land grabbers in the territory.
The Senate has granted approval to the ₦1.77 trillion ($2.2b) loan request of President Bola Tinubu after a voice vote in favor of the request.
The Senate presided by Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, approved the loan after the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts chaired by Senator Wammako Magatarkada (APC, Sokoto North) presented the report of the committee.
The request which was submitted by the President on Tuesday is part of a fresh external borrowing plan to partially finance the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year.
Tinubu had on Tuesday written to the National Assembly, seeking approval of a fresh N1.767 trillion, the equivalent of $2.209 billion as a new external borrowing plan in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
The fresh loan is expected to stretch the amount spent on debt servicing by the Federal Government. The Central Bank of Nigeria recently said that it cost the Federal Government $3.58 billion to service foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024.
The CBN report on international payment statistics showed that the amount represents a 39.77 per cent increase from the $2.56bn spent during the same period in 2023.
According to the report, while the highest monthly debt servicing payment in 2024 occurred in May, amounting to $854.37m, the highest monthly expenditure in 2023 was $641.70m, recorded in July.
The trend in foreign debt servicing by the CBN highlights the rising cost of debt obligations by Nigeria.
Further breakdown of international debt figures showed that in January 2024, debt servicing costs surged by 398.89 per cent, rising to $560.52m from $112.35m in January 2023. February, however, saw a slight decline of 1.84 per cent, with payments reducing from $288.54m in 2023 to $283.22m in 2024.
March recorded a 31.04 per cent drop in payments, falling to $276.17m from $400.47m in the same period last year. April saw a significant rise of 131.77 per cent, with $215.20m paid in 2024 compared to $92.85m in 2023.
The highest debt servicing payment occurred in May 2024, when $854.37m was spent, reflecting a 286.52 per cent increase compared to $221.05m in May 2023. June, on the other hand, saw a 6.51 per cent decline, with $50.82m paid in 2024, down from $54.36m in 2023.
July 2024 recorded a 15.48 per cent reduction, with payments dropping to $542.50m from $641.70m in July 2023. In August, there was another decline of 9.69 per cent, as $279.95m was paid compared to $309.96m in 2023. However, September 2024 saw a 17.49 per cent increase, with payments rising to $515.81m from $439.06m in the same month last year.
Given rising exchange rates, the data raises concerns about the growing pressure of Nigeria’s foreign debt obligations.
Channels TV
Self acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, has been arrested by law enforcement in Finland.
The BBC reports that Ekpa was subsequently sent to prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media”.
Ekpa was said to have committed the crime in 2021 in Lahti municipality.
The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also arrested four other men over alleged terrorist offences.
A citizen of Finland and Nigeria, Ekpa has described himself as leader of the separatist IPOB group since Nnamdi Kanu’s incarceration.
Finnish police say Ekpa’s activities and social media rhetoric may have fanned the flames of violence in the south-east of Nigeria.
“He carries out these activities from his social media channels, for example,” said Otto Hiltunen, detective chief inspector of the NBI.
In February 2023, Ekpa was arrested by police at his residence in Lahti but was released after hours of questioning.
Using his social media channels, Ekpa had directed Igbos not to participate in Nigeria’s 2023 general election.
In September 2021, the Biafra agitator and secessionist denounced Nigeria and vowed to return the medal he won for the country at the 2003 African Junior Athletics Championships.
