Court remands Ekiti vice-chairman accused of faking own kidnap to fund political activities

• Police claim the reported abduction was orchestrated to raise funds for political and financial commitments.

• The case comes as the same local government area struggles with a real kidnapping crisis involving 16 worshippers still in captivity.

A local government vice-chairman in Ekiti State is in prison custody after a court found enough reason to believe she staged her own kidnapping to raise money for political obligations.

Grace Ogunleye, vice-chairman of Ilejemeje Local Government Area, was arraigned before a Chief Magistrate's Court in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday on multiple charges connected to the alleged scheme.

Chief Magistrate Abayomi Adeosun ordered her remanded at the Ado-Ekiti Correctional Centre while the case file is forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice. The matter has been adjourned pending the DPP's response.

The story behind the charges stretches back to May 20, when Ogunleye was reported missing along the Ipere-Iludun Ekiti road. Her vehicle was found abandoned by the roadside, her phone was unreachable, and local government officials publicly expressed concern.

A joint rescue operation involving the police, military personnel and local security operatives was launched. She was found the following day.

What happened next unravelled the narrative. Police investigations allegedly pointed to evidence that the abduction was not real, that Ogunleye had orchestrated the entire incident herself in an attempt to solicit funds for financial and political commitments.

Whispers had already begun circulating on social media before authorities confirmed her arrest. The revelation landed with force in Ilejemeje, a local government area already reeling from a genuine kidnapping crisis.

It was in the same LGA that gunmen stormed a Christ Apostolic Church in Eda Oniyo on April 28, murdered the presiding pastor, and abducted 16 worshippers, mostly women and children, who remain in captivity to this day despite the community paying a ransom of N10.5 million.

The contrast between that community's real and unresolved anguish and a public official allegedly manufacturing a fake version of the same crisis has not been lost on residents.

The council chairman, Pius Dada, who had initially responded to the reported abduction with concern, has since changed his tone entirely.

He described the alleged act as disgraceful, warned that no public official would be shielded from accountability, and said the conduct was capable of eroding public trust in both government and security institutions.

Ogunleye has not responded to the charges. The case now sits with the DPP, whose legal advice will determine the next steps in the prosecution.

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