Medical reports obtained by SaharaReporters have raised fresh concerns over the health condition of two supporters of Kogi State politician M.I. Onimisi, popularly known as Oka’ami, who have been in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service in connection with an alleged shooting incident involving a councillor.
The documents identified the two detainees as Shuaibu Abdulmumuni, 55, popularly known as Small Boy, and Abdulrahman Momoh Senzo, who are supporters and aides of Onimisi, an All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant for the Adavi/Okehi Federal Constituency.
A medical report issued by General Hospital, Koton Karfe, dated August 11, 2026, said Abdulmumuni presented at the hospital on August 6 with complaints of severe headache, cough that became worse when lying down, and breathlessness aggravated by walking or lying down.
The report said Abdulmumuni was a known hypertensive patient who had been taking medication but was not adherent to his treatment.
“On examination; acutely ill looking middle aged man, conscious afebrile, not pale but anxious in mild respiratory distress and mild bilateral leg odema,” the report stated.
The hospital made a working diagnosis of chronic hypertension with congestive cardiac failure, placed him on oral medication and scheduled him for weekly follow-up.
It also advised that he should not sleep without taking his prescribed medication and appealed for him to be “assisted appropriately.”
A separate document from the Nigerian Correctional Service, Medium Security Custodial Centre, Koton-Karfe, dated September 9, 2026, also confirmed that Abdulmumuni and Abdulrahman had been in the facility’s custody since July 30.
The document, signed on behalf of the Superintendent in Charge of the custodial centre, was addressed to Abbas, Abbas & Co., lawyers representing the detainees.
It stated that the medical unit had observed that the inmates were suffering from serious health conditions and that their conditions had worsened, prompting their referral to General Hospital for further management.
The report described the conditions as “chronic hypertension with congestive cardiac failure and Pulmonary Tuberculosis and congestive heart failure respectively.”
The correctional service document did not provide further details on the circumstances of their detention or the specific treatment they received while in custody.
The medical documents come amid allegations by Onimisi that the two men were detained after being accused of shooting at a councillor and his wife.
Onimisi had previously told SaharaReporters that the dispute began on July 24 when the councillor allegedly went with some people to disrupt a political meeting organised by one of his supporters, Hajiya Rashidat, in his favour.
He alleged that after he contacted the councillor and others involved in an attempt to calm the situation, the councillor later accused two of his supporters of coming to shoot at him and his wife.
The two men, identified as Abdulmumuni and Abdulrahman, were subsequently taken from the Adavi Police Division to the police command headquarters in Lokoja on July 27, according to Onimisi.
Onimisi alleged that they were later remanded in prison and that, on the fifth day of their detention, they were brought out of their cell and pressured to confess to shooting at the councillor and to implicate him as the person who bought the gun.
He said the two men rejected the alleged demand and maintained that they knew nothing about the shooting.
“I was informed on the fifth day of their detention that they were brought out of the cell and told that, if they wanted their freedom, they should admit in writing that they were the ones who shot at the councillor and should also say that I was the person who bought the gun for them,” he said.
According to him, the two supporters refused to make such a confession.
“They refused and told the warder to take them back to the cell because they could not accept something they knew nothing about, let alone implicate their boss, me, Hon. M.I. Onimisi (Oka’ami),” he said.
Onimisi alleged that the development was connected to the dispute over the APC primary election for the Adavi/Okehi Federal Constituency.
He claimed that he won the primary but alleged that his scores were subsequently changed in favour of another aspirant preferred by the governor.
“This is because of an election that I won. My scores, my figures, were changed in favour of another person whom the governor preferred, and I immediately approached the court to seek redress,” he said.
Onimisi previously served as Special Adviser on Political Strategy and Grassroots Sensitisation to Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo. He resigned from the position in March 2026 to comply with electoral guidelines before contesting the APC primary for the Adavi/Okehi Federal Constituency.
He has since continued to challenge the outcome of the primary through legal and political channels while maintaining his membership of the APC.
The dispute also resulted in a separate petition to the Kogi State Commissioner of Police by Onimisi’s younger brother, Raymond.
The petition dated July 27, 2026, and addressed to the Kogi State Commissioner of Police by the law firm of A.O. Mohammed & Co. identified Raymond Onimisi as its client and raised allegations of criminal defamation, malicious falsehood, criminal conspiracy, character assassination and a smear campaign.
The petition specifically named Adeiza David John and one Abdul Ebira in its title, alleging that they were involved in the alleged campaign against Raymond. The lawyers described Raymond as a law-abiding businessman and stressed that he was “not a politician, nor is he a political figure.”
The petition requested police investigation into the allegations.
The allegations have also drawn criticism from civil society groups.
On September 14, the Alliance of Civil Society for Good Governance (ACSGGG) alleged that the two men had been detained for about 57 days in connection with the dispute surrounding the APC House of Representatives primary for the Adavi/Okehi Federal Constituency.
The group called for an investigation into their continued detention and urged the police to either charge them before a competent court if there was sufficient evidence or release them if there was none.
It also called for an investigation into the conduct of police officers involved in the matter and alleged that Kogi State Commissioner of Police Nasiru Bello Kankarofi was acting on the instruction of Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo. The allegation was made by the group and was not independently established in its statement.
On September 12, another group, Kogi Central Youth for Change, also raised concerns over alleged intimidation and harassment of Onimisi following his decision to challenge the outcome of the APC primary in court.