News
My integrity intact – Akpabio *Says, I’ve no hand in Abbo’s ordeal
Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, on Thursday, pushed back against another attack on his person, dismissing the allegation by Elisha Abbo, Senator formally representing Adamawa North Senatorial District, who accused him of masterminding his ouster from the Senate.
Abbo, while appearing as guest on Prime Time, a public affairs programme on ARISE NEWS Network, accused the Senate President of not only engineering his removal from the Senate by influencing the courts, but going ahead to withhold all his entitlements to punish him for standing against his ambition to be Senate President.
But in a swift riposte, the Senate President, who conveyed his position via a statement by Eseme Eyibor, his spokesman, dismissed the allegation as unfounded, saying it was yet another scheme to rubbish the image of the Chairman of the National Assembly, which would also fail like others before it.
The former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, while maintaining that his integrity remained intact and without reproach, wondered why the Senator would be launching a fresh bid in undermining him after recanting on a similar effort in the past.
Akpabio, while stressing that as a seasoned lawyer and democrat, who held the independence of the judiciary in the highest regard and would never interfere in its processes, urged the Abbo to make fences with his people if he desired to return to the Senate, adding that no amount of whining or smear campaign would help him.
The full statement read: “The attention of the Office of the President of the Senate has been drawn to another round of spurious and malicious accusations by Mr. Elisha Abbo, who unlawfully represented Adamawa North Senatorial District save a judicial intervention.
“He has again sought to blame the President of the Senate, His Excellency, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, for the travail of his judicial sanction that occasioned his ouster from the Senate.
“It is sad and regrettable that despite publicly retracting a similar allegation in 2023 – after admitting that his earlier accusation was “premature and based on the available information at our disposal” – Mr. Abbo has once again embarked on a campaign of misinformation and blame transfer.
“Following a discussion with the Senate President last year, Mr. Abbo himself acknowledged that Senator Akpabio had “no involvement” in the judicial process that led to his removal. It is puzzling that he would now return to the same baseless allegations he once renounced.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Court of Appeal, after a thorough legal process, ruled unequivocally that Mr. Abbo’s presence in the Red Chamber was in error. The court determined that he was not validly elected as the Senator for Adamawa North, and consequently, he was removed.
“The court acted in accordance with the extant laws and the Constitution within its sacred duty to uphold the rule of law. Senator Akpabio, a seasoned lawyer and democrat, holds the independence of the judiciary in the highest regard and would never interfere in its processes.
“It is therefore both illogical and irresponsible for Mr. Abbo to now turn around and allege that the Senate President influenced a court judgment – a judgment which he himself accepted at the time and for which he expressed contrition for his earlier unfounded claims. ( see Punch newspaper of 18th October, 2023)
“Mr. Abbo has also sought to create the impression that he was unjustly denied official benefits following his ouster. He claims entitlement to salaries, allowances, and even an official vehicle, despite the court’s declaration that his tenure was null and void ab initio.
“In matters of financial and administrative processing, it must be stated that the Senate President only approves payments that have been duly vetted and forwarded by the appropriate administrative units, in line with extant laws, Senate procedures, and standard due diligence practices.
“If any of Mr. Abbo’s claims for payment did not reach the desk of the Senate President, it is because they failed to meet these lawful standards – not because of any personal or political vendetta.
“It is unfortunate that instead of accepting the consequences of his legal and political failings, Mr. Abbo continues to resort to media theatrics and reckless finger-pointing. Even more telling is his record of public conduct. Nigerians will recall that in 2019, he was caught on video assaulting a female citizen in Abuja – an incident for which he was ordered by a competent court to pay N50 million in damages. This is a matter of public record and speaks volumes about his temperament and disposition.
“His recent outbursts about unpaid travels and imagined plots further reinforce the conclusion that his actions are driven not by facts or principle, but by bitterness and desperation to remain politically relevant. These claims are not only baseless, but they reek of grievance and a refusal to accept personal responsibility for his removal and loss of public trust.
“Senator Godswill Akpabio remains focused on the noble task of nation-building, providing purposeful leadership in the Senate, and strengthening democratic institutions – especially the independence of the judiciary. He will not be distracted by the antics of individuals who seek to rewrite history to mask personal failures.
“We urge Mr. Abbo to reflect deeply, respect the rule of law, and focus on rebuilding the confidence of his constituents if he hopes to return to public life. Nigeria’s democracy can only thrive when its actors show maturity, responsibility, and an abiding respect for the truth.”
Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Governor of Oyo State, on Thursday, finally threw his hats into the ring by declaring his intention to run for president in 2027, with a message – history beckons.
The governor, whose ambition has been a matter of speculations for months now and who had teamed up with forces angling to force President Bola Tinubu, out of power, told a teeming crowd in Ibadan on Thursday that time had come to reset Nigeria.
At a mega-rally to announce the alliance between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the Allied Peoples’ Movement, (APM), Makinde, expressed worry over the dwindling fortunes of Nigerians, vowing to engage Nigerians to end the drift.
Hear him: “Without a multi-party system, there is no democracy. Where is our multi-party? Where do we go from here? We have been pushed to the wall.
“They calculated and self-opposition cannot unite but I am here to say that the opposition is the everyday Nigerian. This is the time for all us to ensure Nigeria works for us. This is the time to confront it fears. It is time to engage as citizens and not spectators.
“For the opposition political parties, this is the time to unite and work in unity and give our nation the much reset it needs. The time to reset Nigeria is now. Ibadan is the city of warriors. The first grand alliance is formed. The PDP and APM is formed. This handshake will allow us to field candidates from presidency to state Assembly. And so, I declare my candidacy for office of the president of Nigeria.”
Eyo Ekpe, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), on Wednesday, gave a detailed account on how operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) manhandled him on Monday.
He told reporters that he was at sea on why he should fall victim to the assault against his person and eventually arrested given that was not right person directly involved in the information the agency sought.
Some operatives of the EFCC who invaded the hospital, had whisked Ekpe away after firing teargas to scare away the workers, patients and visitors to the hospital, following what appeared like a fracas the ensued over what it claimed was a routine duty in the facility.
Ekpe, Deputy Chairman of the hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), described how an operative had first entered his office to make inquiries on why the hospital was yet to give a response to an EFCC inquiry over a medical report linked to a suspect facing trial.
He detailed how he briefed the operative that the said response was being prepared and even went ahead to show him the draft of a letter in that regard, which needed to go through the gamut of official endorsement before being released.
Hear him: “The head of that internal medicine department looked at the report and also discovered that the name of the doctor that signed the report is not a member of staff of that department.
“I had prepared prepared a response to the EFCC on Monday, May 11, 2026, based on the findings. When the EFCC operative visited my office the next morning to collect the document, I told him that the response was ready in draft. I even showed him the draft, but told him that the document still needed approval from the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital before it could be officially signed and released.
“He pretended to have accepted that. He left, but later later returned with another armed operative and informed me that I was under arrest. I asked him why. I was not the one that issued the medical report. My name is not on the medical report. The report was not issued from my unit.
“But he said I would get the answer when I get to their office. I then asked him to at least wait for my staff member who I sent on an errand before joining them. But they refused.
“They started pushing me. They dragged me out of the office. Then I began to cry while they were dragging me. They had warned me not to speak. They had taken my phone. My cry as they were dragging me, attracted the workers to the scene, who enquired what was going on, but because they ordered me not to speak, I couldn’t say anything. They had their guns.
The members of staff of the hospital initially blocked them from taking me away. They then made a call. After that I saw many masked and armed men came violently, broke the protector, threatening the people that were around and people ran away.
“They picked some staff that were still by me. they dragged me and other staff, five of us into their van downstairs. By that time they discovered that the gate of the hospital were locked. So, they drove towards the gate and packed and the commotion continued. We were inside the van.
“I was so emotionally and psychologically traumatised that I couldn’t even look out of the vehicle to see what was happening outside. But I know that teargas and live bullets were shot. That’s all I can say for now.”
Joyce Abdulmalik, of the Federal High Court, Abuja, heard on Wednesday, how Zenith Bank raised alarm over the huge transaction in one of its branches by Abubakar Malami, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF-MoJ).
The bank said it immediately filed a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) in respect to the transactions, during its appearance in the ongoing trial of Malami, his wife, and son over allegation of massive looting of funds belonging to the Federal Government during his tenure.
Mashelia Bata, a compliance officer with the bank, who appeared as witness in the case, where Malami, et al, are facing a 16-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering to the tune of N8.7 billion, to which they pleaded not guilty, gave the testimony while being questioned on the bank’s roles in the matter.
Details of the testimony conveyed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), stated how the compliance officer who was cross-examined by Adebayo Adedeji, lawyer to the defendants admitted that the deposits in the account statements complied with the guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Arguments had stretched when Adedeji, opposed Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), lawyer to the EFCC, who had asked the witness to explain the meaning of a suspicious transaction report, stressing that there was no ambiguity in the term.
However, Okutepa, in response, maintained that section 215(3) of the Evidence Act did not preclude him from re-examining the witness while urging the court to allow the question for proper explanation.
After Abdulmalik, agreed and overruled Adedeji, the witness told the court that banks were required to alert the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) about fund deposits coming in a repetitive pattern, adding: “Any deposition of funds seen in a pattern or repetitive, you must escalate it to the NFIU.”
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