The Senate on Wednesday extended by one week the time given its ad-hoc committee to investigate the alleged assault of a nursing mother by the Senator representing Adamawa North Senatorial district, Elisha Abbo, at a sex-toy shop in Abuja a few months ago.
The Senate said that the victim assaulted by the lawmaker in a viral video did not honour its invitation.
The Chairman of the panel, Senator Sam Egwu, who stated this at plenary on Wednesday, said all efforts to make both the assaulted lady and the shop owner appear before the committee did not succeed.
Senator Egwu said the embattled Senator refused to make submissions before the ad hoc panel because he said doing so would be subjudice.
He also said both the Commissioner of Police in charge of FCT and the lawyers to the victims also refused to make submissions, citing the same reasons.
“We set out to do the investigation and in the course of that, we invited all the people that are involved. We invited our colleague and he made it clear to us that he was invited by the police and the case is already in court and therefore, it is subjudice…,” Egwu said.
“We also invited lawyers to the victim and the Police Commissioner in the FCT, they told us about their caution on the contempt of the court.
Egwu, therefore, requested that the matter be stepped down pending the determination of the criminal case instituted against Abbo by the police.
When asked how much time the committee required, Mr Egwu said, “because it is subjudice, we want to wait until the court has taken their decision.”
His request was, however, rejected by the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, who presided over the plenary, stressing that the panel could go ahead with its work notwithstanding the court case.
Lawan said what the Senate was investigating was the alleged misconduct of its member and not the criminal case against him which is already being handled by the police.
Egwu, therefore, sought the permission of the leadership for appointment one-week extension to enable him to submit the report.
The Senate President granted the request.
