What began as a reported kidnapping of a senior local government official in Ekiti State has taken a dramatic turn, with Grace Ogunleye, the vice chairman of Ilejemeje Local Government Area, being remanded in prison over allegations that she orchestrated her own abduction to raise money for personal and political obligations.
Ogunleye was on Wednesday arraigned before a Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ado-Ekiti alongside three other suspects on charges bordering on conspiracy and self-kidnapping. The court subsequently ordered their remand at the Ado-Ekiti Correctional Centre pending further legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), marking a stunning reversal in a case that initially triggered security concerns across the state.
The prosecution counsel, Akinwale Oriyimi, told the court that the case file had been forwarded to the state Director of Public Prosecutions for legal advice. He urged the court to remand the defendants while awaiting the outcome of the review.
Chief Magistrate Abayomi Adeosun granted the request and ordered that Ogunleye and the three co-defendants be kept in custody pending further proceedings.
The case stems from an incident on May 20 when Ogunleye was declared missing after her vehicle was reportedly found abandoned along the Ipere–Iludun Ekiti Road. Initial reports indicated that gunmen had abducted her shortly after she left the Ilejemeje Local Government secretariat, raising fears over worsening insecurity in the state.
