A former Adamawa North lawmaker, Ishaku Elisha Abbo, has denied reports linking him to the alleged rape of a 13-year-old schoolgirl, insisting he was never arrested or detained by the Nigeria Police Force.On Thursday, media reports claimed that Abbo was in police custody at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Abuja, over allegations that he assaulted a minor in his Katampe residence on June 29, 2025.
But in a rebuttal on Friday, the embattled senator told journalists in Abuja that the reports were false and politically motivated.
“I was in my house at Katampe extension all day yesterday. I was not at any police station, let alone in police custody,” Abbo said in a phone conversation. “The report is the handiwork of political detractors, an orchestrated smear campaign to disturb my peace.”
He admitted, however, that he had recently reported to the FCID what he described as the extortion attempt of a “female money monger” who allegedly demanded N5 million from him. According to him, the police later invited both parties for questioning, but the matter was being twisted to tarnish his image.
Speculation surrounding the case grew after the family of the alleged victim claimed Abbo had tried to silence them with money through the girl’s father. They further alleged that Senator Aishatu Binani, the 2023 APC governorship candidate in Adamawa, visited them in a bid to dissuade them from pursuing the matter.
The development marks another controversy in Abbo’s chequered political career. In 2019, he was captured on video assaulting a woman in a sex toy shop in Abuja, an incident that drew widespread outrage. He has also faced previous allegations of attempting to blackmail a married woman with an alleged sex tape.
Despite the new allegations, Abbo maintains that the rape claims are “baseless, unfounded and mischievous.”