Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Nigeria Police Force on Monday night arrested and subsequently released former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha over allegations of criminal conspiracy, forgery and impersonation linked to a disputed All Progressives Congress senatorial primary result, in a dramatic sequence of events that has deepened the political feud between the former governor and the Imo State Government.
Okorocha, a former senator representing Imo West, was taken into custody at the REIZ Continental Hotel in central Abuja at about 8 p.m. on Monday, October 12, 2026, while attending a reception for the conferment of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria title on a friend. The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Aniete Iniedu, confirmed the arrest, saying the former governor was interrogated for approximately one hour before being released on administrative bail. Iniedu said Okorocha had been directed to return to Force Headquarters on Tuesday for further questioning as investigations into the allegations continue.
The arrest followed Okorocha's alleged failure to honour previous invitations extended to him by the police. According to police accounts, he was initially summoned to Force Headquarters on September 2, 2026, but the appointment was rescheduled to September 8 at the request of his lawyers. He reportedly failed to appear on the rescheduled date, prompting the police to obtain a warrant for his arrest.
At the heart of the investigation is a document circulating on social media that portrays Okorocha as the winner of the APC primary for the Imo West senatorial district, contradicting the certified result submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission. The commission, through its Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Chukwuemeka Ibeziako, petitioned the Department of State Services and the police in separate letters dated October 5 and October 8, 2026, describing the document as fictitious and urging an investigation into its source. Ibeziako said the authentic report of the May 18 primary identified Governor Hope Uzodimma as the winner, and that the APC had forwarded Uzodimma's name to INEC as its candidate. The commission warned that the circulation of the fraudulent material threatened to trigger a breakdown of law and order in Imo State.
The disputed document allegedly lists Okorocha as the winner with 150,780 votes, while the official result showed Uzodimma scoring 230,464 votes against Okorocha's 1,098 votes. The discrepancy has become the focal point of a bitter political dispute between the two men, who have been locked in a long-running feud since Okorocha's tenure as governor ended in 2019.
Okorocha's camp has denied the arrest and accused the Imo State Government of orchestrating a smear campaign against him. In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser on Media, Sam Onwuemeodo, titled "We've Been Vindicated: Falsehood Has Never Prevailed Over Truth; Truth Is Sacred," Okorocha insisted he was never arrested and that no valid court order existed to warrant his detention. "Okorocha was never arrested. There was no bail. There was no statement. And let them prove us wrong," the statement read. The aide accused the Imo State Government, through the Information Commissioner, Mbadiwe Emelumba, of masterminding the claim. He also claimed that a bench warrant reportedly issued on September 9, 2026, had been vacated by the same court on September 14, 2026, rendering it invalid. The claims about the court order and the arrest could not be independently verified.
The Imo State Government had earlier issued a statement titled "Bench Warrant: Okorocha's Lies," which included a copy of the court order dated September 9, 2026, and accused the former governor of spreading falsehood. The back-and-forth between the two camps has added a new dimension to a political rivalry that has shaped Imo State politics for nearly a decade.
The dispute also has a parallel legal track. In August 2026, Okorocha filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja against INEC, Uzodimma and the APC, asking the court to determine whether the commission was bound by reports from its officials who monitored the primary, and whether INEC was right to recognise Uzodimma as the winner. He also raised a constitutional question concerning Uzodimma's eligibility to contest the 2027 senatorial election while still serving as governor, citing Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, which bars a sitting governor from holding another executive office or paid employment. Uzodimma's second term in office will elapse in January 2028, while the next Senate is expected to be inaugurated in June 2027.
The political context of the arrest is significant. The 2027 general elections are less than four months away, with the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, and the governorship and state assembly elections for February 6. The APC is enmeshed in multiple internal disputes across the country, from the Imo West senatorial ticket to the disputed governorship primaries in Ogun and Gombe states, where the PDP's candidates were omitted from INEC's final list. These disputes have raised questions about the party's internal cohesion and its ability to present a united front as the campaign season begins. The APC Presidential Campaign Council is scheduled to be inaugurated on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja, with the formal campaign flag-off in Kaduna on October 24.
For Okorocha, the arrest represents the latest chapter in a turbulent political career that has seen him move from governor to senator to a peripheral figure within the APC, largely sidelined by the party's current leadership in Imo State. For the Imo State Government, the investigation into the disputed primary result is an opportunity to assert the legitimacy of Uzodimma's candidacy and to counter what it describes as a campaign of falsehood by the former governor. For the police, the case is a test of their willingness to investigate a politically sensitive matter involving two prominent figures in the ruling party. The coming days will determine whether Okorocha honours the police invitation for further questioning and whether the investigation produces charges or fizzles out amid the political manoeuvring that has come to define the case.
📩 Stone Reporters News | 🌍 stonereportersnews.com
✉️ info@stonereportersnews.com | 📘 Facebook: Stone Reporters News | 🐦 X (Twitter): @StoneReportNew | 📸 Instagram: @stonereportersnews
Add comment
Comments