The Rapid Response Squad Ekiti of the Ekiti State Police Command has arraigned former Speaker and Acting Governor, Tunji Odeyemi, alongside three others over a dispute involving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Secretariat in Ajilosun, Ado-Ekiti.
Other party officials arraigned include Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, State Secretary Mr Kole Abiodun, and Mr Gani Salau, Personal Media Aide to the PDP governorship candidate, Dr Oluwole Oluyede.
According to reports, the party received an invitation to the RRS office, where a petition alleging vandalism, conspiracy, theft, and illegal invasion of property owned by Adebutu Kensington was read to them. The petition was reportedly authored by Barristers Falade and Ariyo Afolabi and claimed that the property belonged to Ladi Adebutu, PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State during the 2023 elections.
Odeyemi and Ogundipe reportedly provided explanations detailing how the PDP purchased and developed the land and pledged to submit supporting documents. Police requested written statements and conducted an on-site assessment of the secretariat before returning the officials to the RRS office.
The PDP leaders described the bail conditions as stringent, requiring a Level 16 civil servant as surety for each principal officer. They initially remained in detention pending court arraignment, but interventions from prominent individuals and their lawyers led to their release around 9 p.m., with instructions to report back the following morning.
The four were subsequently arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti. PDP counsel in the state, Owoseeni Ajayi, condemned the arrests, describing the matter as a civil dispute over property ownership rather than a criminal issue. He insisted that the proper venue for resolving ownership disagreements is a civil court and expressed confidence that the judicial process would clarify the matter.
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