The Ekiti State Police Command has arraigned the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Tunji Odeyemi, alongside three other party officials, over allegations arising from a dispute involving the party’s secretariat at Ajilosun, Ado-Ekiti.
Those arraigned with Odeyemi are Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, the party’s State Secretary, Mr. Kole Abiodun, and Mr. Gani Salau, Personal Media Aide to the Ekiti PDP governorship candidate, Dr. Oluwole Oluyede. The four were brought before a Magistrate Court in Ado-Ekiti.
According to information gathered, the PDP leadership had earlier received an invitation from the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) requesting the appearance of the party chairman, secretary and a former chairman at the RRS office beside the Police State Command on Old Iyin Road.
On arrival, the new RRS Commander reportedly read out a petition accusing them of vandalism, conspiracy, theft and illegal invasion of a property allegedly owned by Adebutu Kensington.
The petition, said to have been authored by Barrister Falade and Ariyo Afolabi, claimed that the Ajilosun property belongs to Ladi Adebutu, the PDP governorship candidate in Ogun State during the 2023 general election.
The PDP delegation, however, disputed the claim, explaining to the police that the party lawfully purchased and developed the property.
They reportedly pledged to present documentary evidence in support of their ownership when required.
Police officers subsequently obtained written statements from the party leaders and conducted an on-the-spot inspection of the secretariat before returning them to the RRS office.
The PDP officials alleged that after several hours of administrative delays, they were presented with what they described as stringent bail conditions, including a requirement that each of the three principal officers produce a Level 16 civil servant in the Ekiti State civil service as surety.
According to them, they initially chose to remain in custody pending court arraignment to allow a judicial determination of the ownership dispute.
However, following interventions by prominent individuals and representations by their lawyers, the bail conditions were reportedly reviewed, leading to their release around 9 p.m. with instructions to report back the following morning.
Instead of meeting with the Commissioner of Police as anticipated, the four were later moved from the RRS office to the Magistrate Court, where they were formally arraigned.
Reacting to the development, the PDP’s counsel in Ekiti State, Owoseeni Ajayi, condemned the arrests, describing the matter as a purely civil dispute over property ownership rather than a criminal case.
Ajayi maintained that the Ajilosun secretariat belongs to the PDP and argued that no legitimate complainant had established contrary ownership. He stressed that any disagreement over the property title should be resolved in a civil court, not through police intervention and criminal charges.
The lawyer also confirmed that bail issues were being addressed and expressed confidence that the judicial process would ultimately clarify the true ownership of the disputed party secretariat.
