Senate Deputy Minority Leader Sues IGP Disu Over Alleged Intimidation, Thr£ats As Court Restrains Police
Senate Deputy Minority Leader Sues IGP Disu Over Alleged Intimidation, Threats As Court Restrains Police
Senator Oyewunmi is a member of the Accord Party having decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in March, 2026, joining the Osun governor, Ademola Adeleke who also defected.
An Osun State High Court sitting has declared that the Nigeria Police Force violated the constitutional rights of Senator Olalere Oyewumi by subjecting him to repeated police intimidation and threats of arrest without prosecuting him, permanently restraining the police from continuing the actions.
Senator Oyewunmi is a member of the Accord Party having decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in March, 2026, joining the Osun governor, Ademola Adeleke who also defected.
The judgment, obtained by SaharaReporters, was delivered by Justice J.O. Owolawi in a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by the senator against the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone XI, Osogbo, the Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command, and the Nigeria Police Force.
In the June 23, 2026 judgment, the court held that the police failed to challenge the senator’s evidence despite being served with the court processes and hearing notices, prompting the court to accept his affidavit as uncontroverted.
“It is pertinent to state here that the process, as well as hearing notices were duly served on the Respondents who failed, refused and/or neglected to file a Counter Affidavit to refute the allegations levied against them in the affidavit in support of the application. I will therefore proceed to consider the fulcrum and merit of the application,” Justice Owolawi ruled.
LAWSUIT
The judge subsequently declared that the “consistent, persistent and continuous acts of intimidating, victimization, incessant invitations and threatening of arrest” against the senator were “wrongful, unlawful and unconstitutional” because they violated the protections guaranteed under Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution.
The court also issued a perpetual injunction restraining the police and their officers from “disturbing, arresting, intimidating, harassing, inviting and molesting or further threatening” the senator.
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According to court records, Senator Oyewumi approached the High Court under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, alleging that he had been repeatedly investigated over the same political violence in Osun State without any criminal charge ever being filed against him.
In his affidavit, the senator alleged that political violence erupted in Osun State on February 17, 2025, resulting in the deaths of several people, including APC member Remi Abass.
He told the court that APC members in Ikire subsequently filed criminal complaints against him and several political associates, leading to their arrest on February 26, 2025, before they were transferred to the Force Headquarters in Abuja for investigation.
LAWSUIT
According to the affidavit, although he was granted bail on self-recognition, several of his associates remained in detention for weeks without being arraigned before any court.
The senator further alleged that some of the detainees remained in custody in Abuja between April 18 and June 19, 2025, during which one of them, Mr. Adelugba Ademola, died in police custody.
He also claimed that another petition submitted to the Inspector General of Police on August 15, 2025, by political associates of the late Remi Abass triggered a fresh round of police invitations, despite previous investigations allegedly finding nothing linking him to any offence.
Oyewumi told the court that he honoured police invitations on more than eight occasions in Ikire, Osogbo and Abuja, where he was questioned for several hours before being released each time without being charged before any court.
He maintained that he had committed no offence to justify what he described as “incessant arrest, detention and intimidation,” adding that the repeated invitations caused him “physical, emotional and psychological imbalance.”
Justice Owolawi observed that although the police had ample opportunity to dispute the senator’s allegations, they filed no counter-affidavit.
“The Respondents, like I stated earlier, did not file any counter affidavit,” the judge said.
LAWSUIT
The court explained that Nigerian law is settled that where affidavit evidence is not challenged, the facts are generally deemed admitted, provided they are credible and sufficient to prove the applicant’s case.
To support that position, the judge relied on several Supreme Court and appellate decisions, including Badejo v. Federal Ministry of Education & Ors., A.G. Abia State v. Imo Transport Company Ltd., Oluwafemi v. Access Bank Plc., Smart v. Idiokita & Ors., and Inegbedion v. Ojemen & Anor.
Quoting the Supreme Court, Justice Owolawi stated: “It is trite law that any unchallenged and uncontradicted fact in an affidavit remains undisputed and is deemed admitted by the adversary and the court will so hold. However, it is also the law that any such unchallenged and uncontradicted facts which are deemed admitted in the affidavit must be capable of proving and supporting the applicant relying on such facts. In other words, it has been held that the affidavit evidence which is said to be unchallenged must necessarily be cogent and strong enough to sustain the case of the applicant.”
After examining the evidence, the judge held: “Having gone through the Applicant’s unchallenged affidavit in support of his application, I found same contains credible, compellable and cogent facts and I accordingly deemed them admitted.”
The court therefore resolved the sole issue before it in favour of the senator and granted all the principal reliefs sought.
Justice Owolawi declared that the police’s “consistent, persistent and continuous acts of intimidating, victimisation, incessant invitations and threatening of arrest” violated Chapter IV of the Constitution.
The court also issued a perpetual injunction prohibiting the Inspector General of Police, the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone XI, the Osun Commissioner of Police, the Nigerian Police Force and their agents from further arresting, intimidating, harassing, inviting or threatening the senator over the matter.
The certified record further showed that although counsel to the senator, Chief N.O. Salau, who held the brief of I.T. Tewogbade, was present when judgment was delivered, there was “No legal representation for the Respondents.”
There have been intrigues and controversies on Osun State ahead of its August 15 gubernatorial election.
