A magistrate court in Ado Ekiti has ordered the remand of Ayodele Babatola, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate for Ado Constituency 1 in the Ekiti House of Assembly, over alleged rape.
Babatola was recently arrested and detained by operatives of the Ekiti police command.
In a statement, Abutu Sunday, spokesperson of the command, said one Bukola Oluwaseun, a 30-year-old woman, reported that Babatola “forcefully had carnal knowledge of her at KIIBAT HOTEL, along Petim Estate, Adebayo Area, Ado-Ekiti on the night of 24th May 2026”.
Sunday said Oluwaseun alleged she was assaulted and injured during the incident, “which were visible to the police officers on duty at that time”.
“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 CID for a thorough investigation,” Sunday said.
“During investigation, the suspect stated that he was provoked when the victim asked him for payment before having sexual intercourse with her.
“He claimed that he did not actually penetrate the victim before he got provoked by her request for financial compensation, but accepted that he left her in the room and deactivated all her means of reaching him.
“Meanwhile, the victim was taken to the hospital for a medical examination, and it showed and confirmed that there was penetration.
“The suspect was charged to court after investigation was concluded and is currently being remanded in the Correctional Service Centre, Ado-Ekiti.”
Meanwhile, ADC stakeholders in Ekiti staged a protest over Babatola’s detention, alleging that the case is politically motivated.
Speaking at a press conference, Gboyega Aribisogan, a chieftain of the party, claimed that the arrest was linked to Babatola’s criticism of the state government.
He also accused officers of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in Ekiti of targeting opposition figures and using “Form K” to detain citizens.
“Ayodele Babatola is a social activist who has been consistently and constantly harassed by Nigeria Police Force in Ekiti over his criticism of government non-performance,” Aribisogan said.
“He is an advocate of good governance. We are not in doubt where these rape charges are coming from.
“Men of RRS have reportedly used the dreaded form K to send many citizens of Ekiti to prison in the last few months. The ruling APC has consistently used it too.”