The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has been hospitalised after sustaining injuries during an incident involving some individuals at a restaurant in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

The Ekiti State Police Command confirmed the incident on Friday, saying Sowore was receiving treatment at the Police Hospital in Ado-Ekiti. However, the activist and his associates have disputed the police account, insisting that they were attacked rather than involved in an altercation.

The incident followed a message posted on Sowore’s X handle alleging that he had been kidnapped by armed thugs in Ado-Ekiti and that his whereabouts were unknown.

The post also alleged that the attackers were government-sponsored and accused the Department of State Services (DSS) of providing them with the group’s location. The allegations have not been independently verified.

“We have been brutally attacked and injured by armed government-sponsored thugs in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State,” the post stated, adding that the group would not back down.

However, the police dismissed reports that Sowore had been kidnapped, explaining that officers received an alert about an incident involving him and some individuals at a restaurant and moved in to intervene.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Ekiti State, Sunday Abutu, said preliminary information indicated that Sowore had an altercation with the individuals before the police were alerted.

According to Abutu, Sowore was subsequently taken to the Police Hospital, where he was receiving treatment for what the command described as a minor injury.

“The command wishes to categorically clarify that Mr Omoyele Sowore was not kidnapped. Rather, preliminary information indicates that he had an altercation with some individuals at a restaurant in Ado Ekiti, following which the police were immediately alerted,” Abutu said.

The police spokesperson added that the Commissioner of Police, Michael Falade, had ordered a discreet investigation into the incident.

“The Commissioner of Police, Michael Falade, has ordered a discreet investigation into the incident to establish the full circumstances surrounding the altercation, identify all individuals involved and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice,” he stated.

However, Sowore subsequently challenged the police description of the incident, rejecting the suggestion that it was an altercation.

In a post on his X handle on Friday, the AAC presidential candidate insisted that he and his associates were attacked.

“There was no altercation! We were attacked!” he declared.

Sowore also accused the police command of downplaying the seriousness of the incident, alleging that the commissioner visited the scene and saw the injuries sustained by those involved.

He questioned why the command would describe the injuries as minor despite what he characterised as the severity of the violence.

Sowore further alleged that suggestions had emerged linking the police commissioner to the incident, describing the development as unacceptable. However, the allegation has not been independently established.

He also shared a video purportedly showing the commissioner leaving an emergency room after observing the injuries sustained by those affected.

The police have yet to establish publicly the full circumstances surrounding the incident, while Sowore’s account differs from the command’s preliminary description of what happened.

The investigation ordered by the commissioner is expected to determine the circumstances leading to the confrontation, identify those involved and establish whether any offences were committed.

As of Friday, the police maintained that Sowore was not kidnapped and was receiving medical treatment, while the AAC presidential candidate continued to insist that he and his associates were victims of a violent attack.

The circumstances surrounding the incident, including the identities of those involved and the allegations of political involvement, remain subject to investigation.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has blamed some of its registration officers for irregularities involving photographs suspected to have been generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in the commission’s preliminary register of voters.

Dr Lawrence Bayode, INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), disclosed this during an appearance on Arise TV, explaining that some registration officers allegedly used their login credentials to introduce questionable records into the voter database.

The development follows public concerns over the credibility of the voter registration process after INEC published its preliminary register on October 26, with suspicious photographs and other irregularities reportedly identified in some entries.

Among the disputed records were entries linked to a polling unit in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, where some photographs appeared to have been generated using AI.

The discovery triggered widespread reactions on social media, with questions raised about how the questionable images and other irregularities passed through the commission’s registration system.

Explaining the circumstances surrounding the entries, Bayode said registration officers deployed across the country had login credentials that allowed them to access the system and register voters.

He said the commission’s findings indicated that some officers across different states had introduced irregularities into the database, stressing that the problem did not involve all registration officers.

“We have registration officers on the field. And these registration officers, they have login details to log into the system.

“So what we have found is that some of these registration officers, not all of them now, some of them across the states nationwide, they’ve done different things to bring these irregularities onto the register,” Bayode said.

The ICT director explained that not all the questionable photographs were AI-generated, as some of the irregularities resulted from what he described as poor registration practices.

“Some of these pictures are AI-generated. Some of them not AI-generated, but very bad registration. And this thing got into the register by the registration officers and because they have access to register people,” he said.

Bayode said INEC identified the questionable entries through its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), which the commission used to examine the registration database.

According to him, the system enabled the commission to identify problematic records and establish how some of the irregularities occurred, although he said he could not determine the reasons behind the actions of the officers allegedly involved.

“When the ABIS was run on the system, we saw these people. We know what they did. We know how they did it. But honestly, I don’t know why,” he added.

The disclosure has raised fresh questions about compliance with voter registration procedures and the effectiveness of safeguards designed to prevent unauthorised or improper entries from entering the voter database.

However, Bayode’s explanation did not establish the motives behind the alleged actions or clarify whether all the questionable records had been conclusively resolved.

He said INEC had been working to clean up the register before publishing the preliminary version, noting that the exercise was being conducted within the statutory 90-day period.

The publication of the preliminary register on October 26 brought the disputed entries into public view, prompting renewed scrutiny of the commission’s procedures for collecting, verifying and maintaining voters’ information.

A man reportedly from Uburu in Ebonyi State has been arrested in Ikpeze, Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State, over the alleged rape and killing of a young girl from the Onuoha family.

According to reports, the suspect allegedly raped the girl before killing her and dumping her body in a nearby bush.

The incident has sparked concern among residents, with many calling for a thorough investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the young girl’s death and ensure that justice is served.

The identity of the suspect and other details surrounding the incident have yet to be fully disclosed.

As of the time of filing this report, the Imo State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.

Further details are expected as investigations progress.

UPDATE: Young Woman Umuora Mmesoma, Reportedly Killed by Ex-Boyfriend in Anambra, Buried

Meanwhile, Umuora Mmesoma, a young woman reportedly killed by her former boyfriend in Uga, Anambra State, has been laid to rest.

Mmesoma was reportedly declared missing on Friday, October 16, 2026, before her body was later discovered.

According to accounts circulating on social media, her former boyfriend, identified as Chima, allegedly killed her following the end of their relationship.

The suspect reportedly confessed to the crime, claiming that he killed Mmesoma in his house, placed her body inside a bag and dumped it at another location.

Her burial has left family members, friends and loved ones mourning the tragic loss of a young life.