Fresh information obtained from group chats associated with the Ekiti State chapter of the City Boys Movement has raised further questions about the group’s alleged links to the October 30, 2026 attack on African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore and members of his team in Ado-Ekiti.
According to information gathered by SaharaReporters, members of the group allegedly celebrated the attack, while a man identified by Sowore’s team as one of the principal attackers reportedly changed his social media profile name to “Sowore Akin Ifeoluwa.”
The man, Ayodeji Akintade Ifeoluwa, popularly known as “AK,” was captured in video footage of the assault.
His reported profile name change has raised questions about whether it was intended to mock the AAC candidate following the attack. However, the motive behind the change has not been independently established.
Ifeoluwa is an associate of Sola Adenijo, popularly known as Solar, whom sources have identified as the individual who led the attack on the AAC presidential candidate and members of his team.
The group chats also contained discussions about Sowore’s media engagements and publicity activities, with some participants expressing concern that his public response to the attack was becoming overwhelming.
The exchanges suggest that members of the movement were closely following the public reaction to the incident and Sowore’s efforts to draw attention to it.
Information obtained by SaharaReporters further indicates that members of the City Boys Movement met in Ado-Ekiti to prepare for an upcoming campaign event in support of President Bola Tinubu.
SaharaReporters’ attempts to reach Adenijo “Solar” and Ifeoluwa for comment on their alleged involvement in the attack and the subsequent celebration were unsuccessful. Both failed to answer calls or respond to messages sent to their separate mobile lines.
Background
Sowore and members of his team were attacked by armed men at Tawakalitu Restaurant in the Dalimore area of Ado-Ekiti on Friday, October 30, 2026. Several members of the team sustained injuries and were dispossessed of personal belongings.
The AAC candidate described the incident as a coordinated assassination attempt aimed at eliminating him and disrupting his political activities ahead of the 2027 general election.
Police subsequently arrested and arraigned 11 suspects in connection with the attack. They have since been granted bail.
However, Sowore has accused the Ekiti State Police Command of failing to investigate the alleged sponsors and organisers of the assault, insisting that the prosecution of the 11 suspects does not address the involvement of those who allegedly planned and financed the violence.
He has named several political figures, government officials and security personnel whom he believes should be investigated, including Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji, the governor’s Chief Security Officer, CSP Ayodele Akinlua, former RRS commander CSP Marcus Olaosebikan Ogundola, former National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) president Sunday Asefon and Federal Housing Authority Managing Director Oyetunde Oladimeji Ojo, who is President Tinubu’s son-in-law.
“Our internal investigations have identified individuals whose roles demand immediate scrutiny, including Governor Biodun Oyebanji; CSP Ayodele Akinlua; Commissioner of Police, Falade Adegoroye Michael; the Ekiti State Director of the DSS; Sola Adenijo, popularly known as Solar (the Killer Squad leader who was once arrested for killing a police woman and 4 people in 2021, he is however currently on the payroll of the Governor); Omotuyi Temitope, alias Tope Jinadu Small (he was part of the team that attacked us at Tawakalitu restaurant); former NANS President Sunday Asefon (He is President Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Students Engagement and also play the same role for President Tinubu son’s ‘CityBoy Movt’ the attack was planned by largely through him); Ayodeji Akintade Ifeoluwa, popularly known as ‘AK’ (He is the Chief Security Officer to Sunday Asefon the SA to President Tinubu); Federal Housing Authority Managing Director Oyetunde Oladimeji Ojo (He is President Tinubu’s -in-law as well and said to provide funding and support to Sola Adenijo aka ‘Solar’); Olayinka Oyebode (The Chief Press Secretary to the State Governor); Makinde Araoye (He is the organizer of Ikogosi Marathon who issued a statement banning me from partaking in Ikogosi marathon as soon as I was brutally attacked); and Lere Olayinka (Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has also been named in information received by our team concerning the attack),” Sowore earlier said.
“We have identified these individuals on the basis of information gathered by our team, including allegations of direct participation, relevant associations, official conduct and possible knowledge of the events. Their precise roles must be established through independent investigation and credible evidence.”
Sowore also alleged that operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) tracked his team’s movements and provided intelligence to the attackers. He further accused police officers of removing CCTV equipment from the restaurant and returning it with the recordings erased.
The police have yet to disclose whether the individuals named by Sowore were involved in planning or sponsoring the attack, despite the fact that some of them appeared in viral videos allegedly showing them attacking members of Sowore’s team with machetes and other weapons.
Sowore has called for an independent investigation into the incident, the recovery and forensic examination of the restaurant’s CCTV recordings, and the prosecution of everyone found to have participated in or financed the assault.