By George Mgbeleke

Civil Rights advocacy Group HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has charged the minister of women affairs and social development Mrs. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim to coordinate the partnership of International Federation of Women lawyers, FCT chapter, and other WOMEN and Child Rights advocacy groups in Abuja to jointly monitor the prosecution of the Adamawa born Senator Elisha Abbo for alleged rape of a 13-year old female minor.

Reacting to the news of the filing of multiple criminal charges against a former Senator Elisha Abbo accusing him of sexual violence against the 13-year old school girl who also accused the politician of making threats of violence against her and her poor parents, HURIWA applauded the office of the Inspector-General of Police Mr Kayode Egbetokun for overcoming all trappings of political lobby to undermine the resolve of the law enforcement agency to bring the powerful politician to trial over the strong accusation of raping the vulnerable school girl.

“We wish to inform the IGP that how well this case is prosecuted against this Senator will inevitably be regarded as a major talking point of his tenure as the chief law enforcement officer of Nigeria.”

“We all know that the officers of the Nigeria Police Force are often exposed to lots of temptation to compromise the resolve of the police to institute and sustain criminal charges against powerful politicians especially when such a powerful politically exposed person is someone nursing the ambition of winning back his privileged position as a Senator or even gunning for the juicy office of the governor of his home state.

So we are happy that this matter against Senator Elisha Abbo has birthed in the court of law in the nation’s capital. We are therefore charging the federal minister of Women Affairs and social development to demonstrate leadership for once and champion the coordination of a powerful monitoring team to closely watch over the judicial process that the matter will take so justice is not only obtained for the young girl but must be seen to have been achieved.”

HURIWA has also challenged the minister of women affairs to set up a functional department in her office for overseeing court cases involving the sexual violations of children by adults in Nigeria which have become troubling just as the Rights group specifically charged the ministry of Women Affairs to personally keep a vigilant eyes on this case of alleged criminal charges of rape instituted against Senator Elisha Abbo in which a 13 year old female school girl is involved.

HURIWA expressed consternation that not so much has been done by the federal ministry of Women Affairs and social development to demonstrate leadership in defending the rights of vulnerable school children in Nigeria.

“This case for us is such that the alleged vulnerable victim must by all means legally feasible be protected from physical harm from the accused person who is a very prominent politician from Adamawa state. The way to know a functional democracy is how well the political system defends and protects the weak and vulnerable members of our society particularly when their constitutionally guaranteed fundamental human rights are threatened or are already violated by a powerful member of the political class in Nigeria who are known to also see themselves like persons who are above the law.

“Whilst we are not reaching any conclusion regarding the innocence or guilt of the accused powerful politician, our focus is on making sure that the rights of this vulnerable child are adequately safeguarded by government through a vigorous process of effective and efficient prosecutorial mechanism by the law enforcement agency.”

“We are looking forward to hearing information from the office of the minister of Women Affairs and social development in Abuja to the effect that a strong body of monitors made up essentially of Women and children’s rights defenders are put in place to monitor closely the prosecution of Senator Elisha Abbo to a logical conclusion.”

HURIWA recalled that the authority of the Nigeria Police Force has reportedly filed multiple criminal charges against a former senator, Elisha Abbo, accusing him of raping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old schoolgirl.

The charges were lodged at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on October 30.

According to People’s Gazette, the Inspector General of Police’s legal team submitted a nine-count charge against the former Adamawa North lawmaker, who was removed from office by the Court of Appeal in October 2023.

The charges, according to court documents, border on rape, sexual molestation and other offences involving a minor.

The legal action follows a police investigation into the disturbing claims. Investigators said their findings provided sufficient evidence “to test the case in court.”

The alleged offence is based on the detailed testimony of the victim, a Junior Secondary School 3 (JSS3) student, who narrated what she said happened on Sunday, June 29.School supplies

●Victim Says She Was Lured To Katampe Residence

According to her account, she was at home in Gwarimpa when her elder sister’s friend, identified as Nafisa Chigli, came to persuade her to accompany her to a relative’s house. The girl initially declined but later agreed.

They reportedly took a ride to a residence in Katampe Extension, where they were welcomed by Mr Abbo. The former senator allegedly collected their phones upon their arrival. She alleged that the lawmaker instructed Miss Chigli to give them some privacy before proceeding to molest her.

The 18-year-old Miss Chigli was told to wait in the bathroom adjoining Mr Abbo’s bedroom. According to the victim, after Miss Chigli left the room, Mr Abbo forcefully undressed her. She said she had been wearing a hijab, a kimono, and a two-piece outfit — all of which the senator allegedly removed.

The victim, in tears, recounted that Mr Abbo smothered her trembling, exposed body with unwanted kisses, ignoring her repeated pleas to “please, stop.” She added that the more she cried and resisted, the more aggressive and angry the former lawmaker became.

When questioned about whether he had engaged in anal penetration, she denied it, stating, “He did not enter,” as was done to her private parts.

She said he only dripped the baby oil on her anal region and rubbed his private parts on it against her protests. The victim alleged that Mr Abbo poured a white substance on her genital area while whispering strange words.

She said, “When I kept telling him to stop, he said I should keep quiet and call him daddy,” adding that all her attempts to push him off of her only enraged him as he threatened to “go deeper and hurt me” if she continued to fight him.

The victim told The Gazette in tears, “He was on me and I was trying to like …push him, but he kept telling me that if I removed his hand, he would go deeper and hurt me. After a while, he was jerking off, and something white was coming out of him.”

The minor alleged that Abbo raped her and threatened to kill her and her family if she disclosed the incident to anyone.

Her account, along with the police findings, formed the basis for the charges brought against Abbo, who has strongly denied the allegations but must now prove his innocence in court.

Abbo stated that the minor accompanied a relative of his to his house and that they did not stay long. He admitted sending the minor ₦50,000 for “ice cream” via her father’s driver’s account and said he sent the same amount to Miss Chigli.

The former senator accused the two of stealing his wife’s gold earrings and necklace on June 30, the day after their visit, but both denied the claim.

He reported the alleged theft to the Dawaki Police Station on July 16.

Abbo also transferred ₦200,000 to the minor after she informed him about her birthday party. Police reviewed his WhatsApp chats and confirmed the minor had requested money to celebrate her 14th birthday.

He further alleged that Zainab Mohammed, the minor’s mother, began tarnishing his reputation with false accusations and demanded ₦5 million to stop making the claims.

He said he refused, arguing that paying would imply guilt. According to him, his refusal angered Ms Mohammed, who subsequently escalated the matter to the police.

The Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) seized Abbo’s Tecno Spark 40 phone for forensic examination.

While they found adult nude images downloaded from the internet, none belonged to the minor, as alleged by Ms Mohammed and former Senator Bima, the victim’s father.

Analysis of the phones belonging to Miss Chigli and her mother also produced no evidence supporting the rape allegation.

The police noted that the complainant, the minor’s mother, refused to submit her daughter’s phone for investigation.

However, a criminal investigation was initiated against Abbo to thoroughly examine the matter.

“There is a need to test this case in the court of law, as this will go a long way to satisfy the curiosity of the society,” the police stated in the report signed by Rita Emesim Oyintare, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Gender) at the FCID.

“That you, Senator Ishaku Elisha Abbo of Katampe Extension, Abuja, on or about 29th June, 2025, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did an illegal act, to wit, threat to life, when you threatened one and raped her without her consent,” read as the fifth count in the police case against the former lawmaker.