Detention Controversy Rocks Kogi APC: Onimisi Alleges Supporters Were Pressured To Manufacture Confession Against Him
By Passman Akpos
An All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for the Adavi/Okehi Federal Constituency in Kogi State, Hon. M.I. Onimisi, popularly known as Oka’ami, has alleged that two of his supporters detained over an alleged shooting incident were pressured while in custody to confess to the offence and implicate him.
The allegation has added a fresh twist to an escalating political dispute in Adavi Local Government Area, involving Onimisi, his supporters and a councillor in his ward.
The two supporters identified by Onimisi are Abdulmumuni Shaibu, popularly known as Small Boy, and Abdulrahman Momoh Isezuo, also known as Senzo.
Onimisi alleged that the controversy began on July 24, 2026, when the councillor allegedly led some persons to disrupt a political meeting organised by one of his supporters, Hajiya Rashdat, at her father’s residence.
According to him, the meeting was being held in his support amid the controversy surrounding the APC primary election for the Adavi/Okehi Federal Constituency ahead of the 2027 general elections
Onimisi told SaharaReporters that he became aware of the confrontation and immediately contacted those involved, including the councillor, in an attempt to prevent the situation from escalating.
«“When I heard about the crisis, I called the councillor himself and everyone involved to pacify them and make sure there was no breakdown of law and order in the community,” he said.»
He alleged, however, that the situation took another turn later that night when the councillor allegedly called him and accused two of his supporters of attempting to shoot him and his wife.
«“Only for this same councillor to call me that night and start shouting, mentioning the names of two of my supporters and saying that they came to shoot at him and his wife,” Onimisi alleged.»
The APC aspirant subsequently questioned how the councillor allegedly identified the two men he accused.
Onimisi also alleged that his younger brother, Raymond, who he said lives and works in Abuja and is not involved in politics, was also mentioned in connection with the alleged incident.
‘They Were Taken To Lokoja And Remanded’
According to Onimisi, the two supporters were transferred from the Adavi Division to the Kogi State Police Command headquarters in Lokoja on July 27, 2026, following an alleged directive from the Commissioner of Police.
He alleged that they were subsequently remanded in prison.
The most serious allegation came when Onimisi claimed that, several days into their detention, the two men were brought out of their cell and allegedly pressured to provide written confessions.
«“I was informed on the fifth day of their detention that they were brought out of the cell and told that, if they wanted their freedom, they should admit in writing that they were the ones who shot at the councillor and should also say that I was the person who bought the gun for them,” he alleged.»
Onimisi claimed that the two men refused to make the alleged confession.
«“They refused and told the warder to take them back to the cell because they could not accept something they knew nothing about, let alone implicate their boss,” he said.»
The allegations have not been independently established, and the account remains Onimisi’s version of events.
Political Banner Dispute
The aspirant also alleged that the confrontation followed an earlier dispute over a political banner bearing the images of President Bola Tinubu, former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, incumbent Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo and Onimisi.
A woman appearing in a video obtained by SaharaReporters alleged that the councillor gathered people and went to destroy the political banner.
She also accused the councillor of turning against someone who had previously supported him.
The circumstances surrounding the alleged destruction of the banner and the subsequent shooting accusation remain subjects of dispute.
Primary Election Controversy
Onimisi linked the dispute to the controversial APC primary election for the Adavi/Okehi Federal Constituency.
He alleged that he won the primary but that his scores were subsequently altered in favour of another aspirant.
«“This is because of an election that I won. My scores, my figures, were changed in favour of another person whom the governor preferred, and I immediately approached the court to seek redress,” he alleged.»
Onimisi previously served as Special Adviser on Political Strategy and Grassroots Sensitisation to Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo.
He resigned from the position in March 2026, saying the move was necessary to comply with electoral guidelines ahead of his political ambition.
He has since continued to challenge the outcome of the APC primary through legal and political channels while remaining a member of the party.
Brother Petitions Police
The political dispute has also spilled into a separate petition involving Onimisi’s younger brother, Raymond.
A petition dated July 27, 2026, filed by the law firm of A.O. Mohammed & Co. and addressed to the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, identified Raymond Onimisi as its client.
The petition alleged criminal defamation, malicious falsehood, criminal conspiracy, character assassination and a smear campaign.
It specifically named Adeiza David John and Abdul Ebira in its title and requested a police investigation into the allegations.
The lawyers described Raymond as a law-abiding businessman and stressed that he was “not a politician, nor is he a political figure.”
The latest allegations have therefore opened another front in the already heated political dispute surrounding the Adavi/Okehi constituency, with competing claims involving alleged political intimidation, the detention of supporters, accusations of attempted shooting and the unresolved controversy surrounding the APC primary
As of the time of publication, the allegations attributed to Onimisi had not been independently established by Tarakirivoice, and the positions of the councillor and other persons accused in the various claims were not included in the material available for this report.
