The African Democratic Congress in Ekiti State and the state police command are at loggerheads over the arrest and detention of the party’s House of Assembly candidate for Ekiti Constituency 1, Ayodele Babatola, ahead of the 2027 general elections.

While the ADC alleged political intimidation and demanded the immediate release of its candidate, the police insisted the arrest followed a rape complaint filed at the Okeila Divisional Headquarters in Ado Ekiti, stressing that due process was being followed.

The ADC, speaking through the state Publicity Secretary, Gboyega Aribisogan, at a press briefing in Ado Ekiti, said the arrest was an attempt to silence the opposition in the state.

Some placard-carrying ADC members in the state also protested, demanding the release of the candidate.

Inscriptions on their placards included ‘Ekiti ADC demands freedom’, ‘Free Ayo, Free Babatola’, and ‘He is not a rapist’.

Aribisogan said, “Babatola was picked up on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, around 11 a.m. by officers of the Rapid Response Squad over a rape allegation. The ADC House of Assembly candidate was set up to silence opposition voices in the state.”

The ADC alleged that Babatola was hurriedly arraigned using “Form K,” a remand warrant application meant to seek a magistrate’s permission to hold a suspect pending investigation.

He alleged that the remand warrant was being misused as a tool for indefinite detention and political intimidation, alleging that the RRS had used ‘Form K’ to detain several citizens in recent months in a bid to silence opposition voices ahead of the 2026 Ekiti governorship and 2027 general elections.

“Such practices violate Sections 35 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantee personal liberty and fair hearing,” Aribisogan said.

The party demanded Babatola’s unconditional release and an end to the misuse of police powers to undermine democracy in Ekiti State.

The party also urged the state Chief Judge and the National Human Rights Commission “to scrutinise the remand application and investigate the use of Form K in the state.”

ADC made a further appeal to the Independent National Electoral Commission to take note of what it described as interference in the electoral process.

However, the state police command said that the arrest of the ADC candidate was not politically motivated, urging members of the public to disregard the allegation.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, said in a statement on Wednesday that Babatola was arrested following a report at Okeila Divisional Police Headquarters, Ado Ekiti, by a 30-year-old Bukola Oluwaseun “that the suspect, one Ayodele Babatola, forcibly had carnal knowledge of her” at a hotel in the Adebayo area, Ado Ekiti, on the night of 24th May, 2026.

Abutu stated, “She added that the suspect, in the process, also assaulted her and inflicted various degrees of injuries on her; the injuries, which were visible to the police officers on duty at that time.

“The victim stated that she met the suspect on social media about three months ago while he was still living abroad, and they have been chatting since then.”

The police spokesperson said the lady said that upon her return to Nigeria, they agreed to meet, saying, “The victim alleged that on getting to the hotel, the suspect, without her consent, had carnal knowledge of her, inflicted injuries on her as a result of her refusal to cooperate with him, and immediately left the room to an unknown destination.

“Upon the receipt of the complaint, the suspect was invited, his statement was taken, and after a preliminary investigation, the case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for a thorough investigation.

“The suspect was charged in court after the investigation was concluded and is currently being remanded in the Correctional Service Centre, Ado-Ekiti.” (PUNCH)

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