Former All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Ekiti State, Mrs. Abimbola Olajumoke Olawumi, has allegedly been abducted by unidentified men in Abuja, less than two weeks after accusing Governor Biodun Oyebanji of orchestrating her arrest and using the Nigeria Police Force to persecute her over her legal challenge to the party’s governorship primary.
The incident has intensified concerns over her safety and raised fresh questions about the growing political controversy surrounding her prolonged dispute with the Ekiti State Government.
The alarm was raised on Sunday evening by her daughter, Ololade, who disclosed that Olawumi was taken from a hotel located within one of the military barracks in Asokoro, Abuja, where she had sought refuge after armed men reportedly stormed her residence last Wednesday, only days after she was released from police custody.
According to Ololade, unidentified men arrived at the hotel and took her mother away. She said attempts by the family to obtain CCTV footage of the incident had so far been unsuccessful.
She added that hotel officials told the family the men wore no official uniforms, making it impossible to determine whether they belonged to any recognised security agency.
Ololade further alleged that the same individuals had earlier visited the hotel but were denied access before allegedly returning to take her mother away.
The reported abduction came only hours after Olawumi addressed an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, accusing Governor Oyebanji of using the Nigeria Police Force to intimidate, harass and persecute her because she challenged her disqualification from the APC governorship primary in court.
In the letter dated August 2, 2026, Olawumi appealed for an urgent audience with the President, saying she feared for her life and the safety of her family.
She alleged that her ordeal began after she sought judicial intervention over what she described as her unlawful disqualification from the governorship primary, accusing the governor of deploying different police formations across the country to suppress and intimidate her.
Olawumi also claimed that operatives of the Ekiti State Rapid Response Squad (RRS) abducted her son on February 20, 2026, as part of what she described as a sustained campaign of intimidation against her family.
She further alleged that on July 22, shortly after proceedings relating to her case at the Supreme Court, she was seized outside the Court of Appeal premises in Abuja by operatives attached to the Ekiti RRS, transported to Ado-Ekiti, detained overnight and later arraigned before a Magistrates’ Court, where she was eventually granted bail on self-recognisance.
Following her release, Olawumi alleged that police operatives again surrounded her Abuja residence despite ongoing discussions with the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force over the circumstances surrounding her earlier arrest.
According to her, she had met with the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, at the Force Headquarters, where discussions on her case lasted several hours before another team of policemen allegedly besieged her residence the following morning.
Although sources claimed operatives from the Ekiti State Police Command attempted to re-arrest her and return her to Ekiti State, the Ekiti State Government has consistently denied directing any police action against her, insisting that law enforcement agencies operate independently and without interference from the state government.
The dispute originated from Olawumi’s legal challenge to her disqualification from the APC governorship primary. However, the Supreme Court dismissed her suit on July 24, 2026.
Despite the court’s judgment, her supporters maintain that the repeated police actions against her are politically motivated, an allegation the Ekiti State Government has repeatedly denied.
As of the time of filing this report, the identity of the men who allegedly took Olawumi from the Asokoro hotel remained unknown. Neither the Nigeria Police Force nor any other security agency had issued an official statement regarding her whereabouts or the circumstances surrounding the incident.