Senator Ireti: How I Was Assaulted, Held Hostage at ADC Primary Election Venue

…Demands Immediate Arrest of Alleged Assailant

Eshioromeh Sebastian

Senator Ireti Kingibe, representing the Federal Capital Territory in the National Assembly, has recounted how she was allegedly violently assaulted, manhandled, and held hostage during the African Democratic Congress (ADC) FCT National Assembly Primary Elections held at the party’s state secretariat in Gudu, Abuja.

The incident, according to the senator, took place on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at approximately 3pm, has left her with severe head trauma and blurred vision, injuries she says were sustained after she was flung against a wall by political thugs allegedly led by one Tijani Mubarak.

In a press statement she personally signed on Sunday, Senator Kingibe described the attack as not merely an assault on her person but “a direct attack on democracy, the rule of law, and the safety of women participating in Nigerian politics.

“According to the Senator, she arrived at the ADC State Secretariat located at House A7, Adisa Estate, Gudu, to observe the transparent distribution of materials for the party’s primary elections.

Upon arrival, she met the Primary Elections Committee, led by Chairman Mr. Abubakar Adams Chika and Secretary Mr. David Godwin Itopa, alongside three or four House of Representatives aspirants. A brief and peaceful meeting was held, after which election materials were opened and distributed.

Attendees then began to depart.It was shortly after most committee members had left that trouble began.Senator Kingibe stated that a man identified as Tijani Mubarak entered the room accompanied by four other men. Initially, he was offered a seat out of courtesy.

However, the moment the Committee Chairman asked whether he was the same person who had been calling earlier that day, Mubarak became aggressively rude, raised his voice, and adopted an accusatory tone.

When the Chairman stated he would not tolerate such disrespect, Mubarak stood up and violently slapped him across the face.

Female Aspirant Attacked, Senator AssaultedA female House of Representatives aspirant who was present began recording the altercation on her phone. Enraged by this, Mubarak ordered his thugs to seize the device.

The men grabbed the female aspirant, lifting her entirely off the ground toward the ceiling as they wrestled the phone from her, injuring her hands in the process.As Senator Kingibe witnessed this lawlessness, one of Mubarak’s men turned on her.

He reached out, grabbed the Senator, and flung her violently against the wall—her head hitting the surface with severe force.The Senator’s security detail intervened, stepping between her and the attacker to keep him at bay.

Locked Inside, Held HostageRealising he was losing control of the room, Mubarak ran to the exit door, locked it, and trapped everyone inside with himself and his armed thugs. Outside, Senator Kingibe’s supporters fought desperately to rescue the trapped occupants, eventually breaking the door down.

A pathway was created, allowing the Senator to escape the room and head downstairs, bringing the female aspirant to safety.But the ordeal was not over.

Upon reaching the ground floor, the Senator and others discovered that Mubarak’s men had already locked the main exit door and fled with the key. Senator Kingibe described this as clear evidence of a “planned, deliberate, and premeditated ambush designed to hold us hostage and inflict maximum harm.

“The gridlock only ended when Mubarak, after being beaten by party supporters, finally fled the premises—freeing the office gate which he had blocked using his personal vehicle to prevent anyone from leaving.

Injuries and Medical TreatmentSenator Kingibe reported that after returning home and taking painkillers, she noticed her vision had become blurred and her headache was unusually severe. She proceeded to Wuse General Hospital, where a doctor diagnosed severe trauma to her head. X-rays were conducted and injections administered.

Formal Complaints LodgedFollowing her rescue, the Senator immediately reported the sequence of events to the ADC National Headquarters. She also proceeded to the Apo Police Station, National Assembly Quarters, Abuja, where a formal criminal complaint was lodged. The Chairman and Secretary of the ADC Primaries Electoral Committee have also filed their own complaints.

Demands for JusticeSenator Kingibe has issued three clear demands:First, she called upon the Inspector General of Police and the FCT Police Commissioner to immediately order the arrest, thorough investigation, and swift prosecution of Tijani Mubarak and all his accomplices for criminal trespass, assault causing grievous bodily harm, hostage-taking, and political thuggery.

Second, she called for zero tolerance for violence against women in politics, stating that “the barbaric manhandling of a female aspirant and the physical assault on my person will not be swept under the carpet.

“Third, she demanded a comprehensive investigation into the premeditation of the attack, noting that the locking of doors, removal of exit keys, and barricading of the office gate indicated a conspiracy to commit a felony.

“I Am Shaken but Entirely Unbowed”Senator Kingibe thanked her security detail, Dr. Fatima Goya, the ADC party leadership, and the supporters who placed themselves in harm’s way to shield her from further harm.

To the people of the FCT, she offered this assurance: “Cowardly acts of violence will never deter me from performing my constitutional duties or standing up for transparency and justice in our capital.”