•Party PRO Debunks Allegation
The campaign organisation of Engineer Kayode Ojo, a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2026 election in Ekiti State, has raised alarm over what it describes as sustained intimidation, harassment, arrest and detention of his supporters across the state.
In a statement, the campaign spokesman, Mr Femi Awojobi, alleged that members of the group are being treated as enemies under the administration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji for supporting a different aspirant within the same party.
According to the statement, several APC members from different parts of the state have allegedly suffered intimidation and unlawful detention for expressing support for Ojo.
The statement highlighted the arrest of Akogun Abayomi, popularly known as Lustay, as the most alarming case. It said Abayomi was arrested on January 1, 2026 in Ado Ekiti after stopping to greet a police officer he knew along Old Iyin Road.
He was allegedly arrested without explanation, warrant or stated offence and taken away by officers who arrived at the scene.
The group further alleged that Abayomi was detained in secrecy, denied access to his family, lawyers and medication, with no formal charge communicated. It said attempts by his lawyer and family to locate him at the Rapid Response Squad office were initially unsuccessful, until his wife later sighted his vehicle within the premises without its number plate.
According to the statement, Abayomi was later subjected to political intimidation while in custody and was allegedly ordered by the Rapid Response Squad Commander, Marcus Ogundola, to renounce his support for Ojo, a directive he reportedly rejected.
The campaign organisation called on the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, to intervene and restrain officers in Ekiti State from abusing police powers for political purposes. It also urged the National Judicial Council to investigate alleged misuse of judicial processes in the state.
Ekiti State APC Spokesperson, Segun Dipe, said there is no truth in the claim as the party is heading towards an election and doing everything to bring all party members to achieve the goal of winning the election.
He added: “They mentioned one person that he was arrested January 1. And are they being arrested by APC or by the police? If they are being arrested by the police, if so, what is APC’s role in that.
“So until they are able to establish APC was responsible for the petition, that’s when they can allege us, because it must be based on a petition for somebody to be arrested.
“If they are talking about persecution by a group, are they are saying that he didn’t do what they alleged that he did, if he didn’t do that, then they should seek redress in court to prove that he didn’t do it.
“But if you are saying that they are persecuting because he’s a member of our party, we have done our primary and the candidate has emerged. Why do we still need to persecute? As a matter of fact, many of the people who are their followers are now back into the fold and they are ready to work for Abayomi Oyebanji. So why persecution? You cannot be going to a general election and be trying to reduce the number of party members. You’ll be increasing it. So there’s nothing like prosecution.”
