Senator Abbo Issues Apology for Accusing Akpabio of Scheming His Court of Appeal Removal

Senator Elisha Abbo has issued a public apology for his earlier claims that Senate President Godswill Akpabio was behind his removal by the Court of Appeal. This apology was made during an interview on Arise Television on Tuesday.

Abbo acknowledged that the press release issued the previous day was “premature” and based on the information available at the time. However, following new revelations, he stated, “I have to say this with all sense of humility and responsibility that the press release we issued yesterday was premature and based on the available information at our disposal yesterday. As of today, we have discovered a lot of things, and yesterday night I had a discussion with the Senate president, and I am convinced that he is not involved.”

Furthermore, Abbo went on to swear on his mother’s grave that he was not involved and claimed that he was unaware of the court proceedings.

This apology comes after Senator Abbo’s initial allegation, made at his residence in Abuja just hours after the Court of Appeal nullified his election into the Senate. At that time, he accused Akpabio of having plans to remove Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and four other senators who didn’t support his Senate presidency bid.

Abbo expressed his dissatisfaction with the court’s decision, describing it as a “coup on democracy” and urged his supporters to remain steadfast despite the ruling. He continued to assert that he had won the election, defeating the PDP candidate by a margin of 11,000 votes.

The Court of Appeal’s unanimous decision to vacate the tribunal judgment, which had initially affirmed Abbo as the valid winner of the Senatorial seat under the All Progressives Congress (APC), upheld the merit of an appeal lodged by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Amos Yohanna.

It’s worth noting that Senator Abbo had previously made headlines in 2019 when he assaulted a woman in a sex toy shop in Abuja. He was subsequently ordered by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory to pay N50 million in damages to the victim, a decision affirmed by an appellate court panel led by Justice Jamilu Tukur.