Former APC governorship aspirant Abimbola Olajumoke Olawumi alleges abduction and police harassment after challenging her disqualification from the party’s primary
Former All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant Abimbola Olajumoke Olawumi has accused Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji of orchestrating what she described as “state-sponsored terrorism”, alleging that police operatives were deployed to abduct and harass her and members of her family over her legal challenge to the party’s governorship primary.
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Olawumi made the allegations in an open letter dated August 2, 2026, addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in which she appealed for an urgent private meeting with the President and warned that her life and those of her family members were at risk.
“I am compelled to write this open letter to your esteemed office with a bleeding heart, running out of options, and fearing for the lives of my family and myself,” Olawumi wrote.
The former aspirant said her ordeal began after she challenged her disqualification from the APC governorship primary through the courts, alleging that the governor subsequently used the Nigeria Police Force to intimidate and harass her across the country.
“For months, the Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, has relentlessly hounded me and my family, deploying different units and commands of the Nigeria Police Force to terrorize us across the federation,” she alleged.
Olawumi described her decision to seek legal redress as a peaceful exercise of her constitutional rights and accused the governor of responding by allegedly “weaponising” state institutions against a political opponent.
“Because I sought justice in court, Governor Oyebanji has chosen to fight me through raw terror,” she alleged.
One of the most serious claims in the letter concerned the alleged abduction of her son.
Olawumi said armed operatives attached to the Ekiti State Rapid Response Squad abducted him on February 20, 2026, describing the incident as an attempt to use her son as a “pawn” in what she called political intimidation.
She further alleged that she herself was abducted in Abuja on July 22, 2026, shortly after proceedings connected with her legal challenge.
“Right in the heart of the Federal Capital Territory, directly in front of the Court of Appeal premises in Abuja, I was violently ambushed, kidnapped, and forced into a vehicle,” Olawumi alleged.
She claimed she was subsequently driven for nine hours to Ado-Ekiti, where she said she was held overnight in degrading conditions.
Olawumi also alleged that her electronic devices were forcibly withheld during the ordeal and that her WhatsApp database and important legal documents stored in cloud accounts were deleted.
The former aspirant accused the judiciary of failing to protect her rights, alleging that her substantive case was dismissed through what she described as a technically engineered process involving the professional negligence of her former lawyer.
Her account comes against the backdrop of a long-running legal dispute over her participation in the APC governorship primary.
Olawumi challenged her disqualification through the courts, eventually taking the case to the Supreme Court, which dismissed her suit on July 24, 2026.
The political dispute has continued to generate tension, with Olawumi and her supporters maintaining that the police actions against her are connected to her legal challenge.
The allegations have not, however, been independently established, and the Ekiti State Government has repeatedly denied directing any police action against Olawumi.
The latest development followed reports that police operatives had surrounded Olawumi’s residence in Abuja last Tuesday, only days after her release from custody following her arrest and arraignment in Ekiti State.
Olawumi said the latest police presence was particularly troubling because she was already engaging with senior police authorities over the circumstances surrounding her arrest.
She was reportedly arrested in Abuja and taken to Ado-Ekiti, where she was arraigned before a Magistrates’ Court on a four-count charge and later granted bail on self-recognisance.
The circumstances surrounding the arrest and subsequent police actions remain contested, with Olawumi alleging political persecution and the state government denying involvement.
In her appeal to President Tinubu, Olawumi said she was prepared to take her case to the international community if domestic avenues failed to provide protection.
She said she was considering submitting what she described as an international human rights dossier to the United Nations, the United States Government, Israel and the wider diplomatic community.
“I have had enough of these lawless shenanigans,” Olawumi said, while stressing that she wanted to exhaust domestic remedies before taking such a step.
“As a loyal citizen and a stakeholder in our democracy, I refuse to take this international step without first exhausting the highest domestic office in the land,” she wrote.
Olawumi urged President Tinubu to grant her a private audience, saying she wanted to personally present what she described as evidence, digital records and other material supporting her allegations.
“I respectfully request an urgent, private presidential audience to see you face-to-face. I desire to place the unvarnished facts, digital footprints, and evidence of this state-sponsored terrorism directly into your hands,” she appealed.
She also alleged that federal law enforcement resources were being misused for political purposes, a claim that has not been independently substantiated.
The case has placed renewed attention on the relationship between political competition, law enforcement and the courts in Nigeria, particularly where unsuccessful aspirants challenge the internal processes of major political parties.
Olawumi’s allegations also raise serious questions about the treatment of political opponents and the safeguards available to citizens who pursue legal challenges against powerful political actors.
However, the competing accounts from the former aspirant and the Ekiti State Government underscore the need for independent investigation and credible evidence before responsibility can be conclusively established.
For now, the dispute remains unresolved. Olawumi is seeking presidential intervention, while her legal challenge to the APC governorship primary has been dismissed by the Supreme Court.
Her allegations of abduction, police harassment and political persecution, if substantiated, would represent a grave abuse of power.
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The authorities have yet to provide a comprehensive public account addressing each of the claims contained in her latest open letter.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
