Security operatives in Ekiti State have cracked down on a group of alleged political thugs, disrupting what authorities describe as a coordinated plot to orchestrate violence during the All Progressives Congress house of representatives primary election. The swift intervention follows a heightened security deployment ordered ahead of the internal party election, which was originally scheduled for May 15.
The breakthrough came late Thursday night after the command acted on actionable intelligence indicating that armed individuals had gathered at the Onikoyi Hotel in Ikun-Ekiti. Operatives from the Rapid Response Squad immediately stormed the hospitality facility. While several suspects managed to flee the scene in three standby vehicles, police locked down the area and apprehended seven men on the spot.
Those taken into custody during the initial hotel raid include Adekunle Stephen, Adepoju Adebayo, Boluwaji Ishola, Oluwatobi Adeoluwa, Akintunde Emmanuel, Adewale Makanjuola, and Ibitola Babatope. A search of the premises and the suspects yielded a dangerous cache of weapons, including a Beretta pistol, two pump-action shotguns, nine rounds of 9mm live ammunition, and four live cartridges. Officers also confiscated an assortment of charms, two Apple laptops, and a Honda Accord sedan.
The crackdown did not stop at the hotel. In a follow-up operation, police intercepted an unregistered Toyota Sienna bus that was used by some of the escaping suspects. This led to the arrest of four additional individuals, identified as Abanikanda Sikiru, Dayo Ibijowo, Ajayi Dele, and Adegbite Damola, while another pump-action gun was retrieved from the vehicle.
During preliminary interrogations, the suspects reportedly admitted to being political thugs recruited by a sitting member of the House of Representatives. Their explicit brief, according to law enforcement, was to destabilize the primary election process.
State Police Commissioner Falade Micheal confirmed that investigative teams are aggressively tracking the remaining fleeing suspects as well as the federal lawmaker behind the plot. He assured the public that all complicit individuals will face prosecution in court as soon as the investigation concludes.
The police command has reiterated its dedication to working alongside sister security agencies to preserve order throughout the election season, urging residents to go about their lawful businesses and reject any form of political thuggery. Reports gathered by Zoyols News indicate that tactical and intelligence units remain heavily deployed across strategic locations in the state to prevent any further breakdown of law and order.
