Senate President, Ahmad Lawan has said the clip of Senator Elisha Abbo (Adamawa North) assaulting a lady in a sex toy shop is still an allegation until an investigation is carried out.
As per a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage obtained by Premium Times, Elisha assaulted the lady after she backed the shop owner whom the senator had accused of insulting him.
Speaking at plenary today, Kaduna state lawmaker, Senator Uba Sani disclosed that Elisha’s action can have a negative effect on the Senate.
His words, “This case has gone a long way in tarnishing the image and credibility of this senate. As a member of this senate, my own credibility is at stake,”
“Some of us have spent most of our lives defending and fighting for the rights of less privileged and most especially, the youth and women. I therefore call on this senate to take a decisive action to redeem the image of this Senate,”
Senator Opeyemi Bamidele also referred to his action as massively tragic.
His words, ”It was an extremely tragic news but we cannot afford to be sensational about it. Nigerians must also be able to see us as people who are willing and ready to lead by example. As much as we must ensure that our colleague suffer for what he did not do assuming without considering that he didn’t do this.
“On the other hand, we must be able to protect the right of the Nigerian who has been violated. What we saw is a clear violation of sections 33, 34 and 35 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which provides respectively for the right to life, right to dignity of human person and right to personal liberty.
“I believe there is a need for the senate to set up and ad hoc committee to thoroughly investigate this issue and give each side a fair hearing so that to the public and our own conscience, we would be able to ensure that justice is not just dispenser but that it is done transparently.”
Ahmed Lawan then said the Senate would not tolerate any form of violence.
His words, “Whatever we saw (in the video) remains an allegation and until we investigate and find out what happended… both parties will have a fair hearing,”
“This morning, I received a lot of calls about the incident. I believe that this senate will be responsive. We cannot condone any act of violence by anyone. If there is an allegation against any of us, we must ensure that justice prevails.
“We are going to set up a bi-partisan committee to investigate the issue. That will be an opportunity for our colleague to defend himself and also an opportunity for the lady assaulted to present and prove her case.”
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