The Nigeria Police Force has 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.
People Gazette reports that 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.
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.
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