Former lawmaker, Elisha Abbo has asked the United States and European Union to impose visa restrictions on some Nigerian judges and their family members, whom he accused of corruption and undermining democracy.
Abbo, who chaired the Senate Committee on Creative Economy in the 9th Senate, alleged Justices Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, Olabode Adegbehingbe, and Muhammad Ibrahim Irajo played a role in nullifying his election to the 10th Senate.
In a press conference on Tuesday, 13, Abbo claimed that his victory in the 2023 National Assembly election was overturned by the Court of Appeal and was “influenced by money and political pressure.”
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Abbo the winner of the 2023 National Assembly election under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), for Adamawa North Senatorial District, defeating his opponent, Reverend Amos Kumai of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), by nearly 12,000 votes.
However, his victory was challenged by Kumai at the tribunal and later at the Court of Appeal, which overturned the election on October 16, 2023, citing irregularities in 253 polling units out of 924 in the senatorial district.
“The cause I’m fighting is not a personal one between me and Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme and others but between good and bad. War against corruption in Nigeria must be taken to the judiciary, where some Judges and Justices are carrying out judicial banditry or coup against democracy through unjustifiable nullification of elections of people validly voted for by Nigerian electorate,” he said.
He added that he was confident that his petitions would receive favourable attention from President Bola Tinubu, the CJN, Kayode Ariwoola, and the NJC, as well as the international community, and “that justice would prevail” in his case.
He also urged his supporters and the people of Adamawa North to remain calm and peaceful, as he vowed to pursue his case to the Supreme Court, if necessary.