Elisha Abbo, 41, a Nigerian senator caught on CCTV hiting an assistant in a sex-toy shop has told the BBC he was retaliating after being attacked.
On Tuesday PremiumTimes newspaper released a video on its website that showed the senator in a shop in the company of his security entourage, hitting a woman repeatedly.
The video, filmed in a shop in the capital, Abuja, has sparked a huge conversation on social media as people share the footage.
The senator hasn’t denied he’s the one seen hitting the woman in the video, but told BBC Pidgin the film had been “doctoredâ€.
The senator from Adamawa state said the shop assistants had earlier assaulted his sister, which the video did not show.
He added that the CCTV recording was made some time ago.
“It happened long before I came into office and it’s just being released now to actually achieve a political aim,†he said.
“Secondly, I want to also say categorically that they cut off a clip where they [hit] my sister in the shop before I was called upon…to go upstairs where I saw my sister lying unconscious in the shop,†he added.
At 41, Elisha Abbo is one of Nigeria's youngest ever senators
He also said that he was hit.
Mr Abbo said the incident happened on 11 March 2019, but Premium Times who first carried the story, said witnesses told them it happened on 11 May.
Senator Abbo who’s a member of Nigeria’s main opposition People’s Democratic Party, is one of the newly elected national lawmakers.
Some activists are planning a protest to the police headquarters in Abuja, calling for his arrest.
Frank Mbah who’s the police spokesman, told the BBC Pidgin that it’s an assault case and that the woman attacked ought to report to a police station.