*Court Orders Arrest Of Quartet
*INEC Writes Police, DSS To Investigate Them, Says Their Alleged Actions Can Trigger Breakdown Of Law, Order
By our reporter
Trouble has come for former governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, former Senator Ifeanyi Araraume and two others as a Senior Magistrate Court in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) issued a bench warrant for their arrest.
They are to be nabbed for alleged criminal conspiracy, forgery and tendering of false documents.
The warrant was issued by Senior Magistrate Ebiwari E. Damini at the Senior Magistrate Court 3 in Jiwa, under case numbers CR/M/JW/084/2026 and CR/M/JW/085/2026 between Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the four persons.
The alleged false documents are linked to results of 18 May, 2026 primary election of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for Imo West Senatorial District (Orlu Zone) which had pitched Okorocha, known simply as Rochas, against incumbent Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, with the latter trouncing his predecessor to emerge winner.
At the primary, the Returning Officer, Rear Admiral Williams Kayode (rtd) had declared Uzodinma winner, adding that the governor polled 230,464 votes against Rochas’ 1098 votes, though the latter later cried foul.
Also ordered to be arrested are Timothy Ama Chuks and Amen Okorocha, who allegedly conspired with the ex-governor to forge and tender false results for the primary which Rochas claimed to have won.
On the heels of the bench warrant, the police were ordered to seize Rochas and others wherever they could be located in Nigeria and bring them before the Jiwa court.
INEC Writes Police, DSS Over Rochas, Others
Another dimension was added to the matter as Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) asked both the police and Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate Rochas for allegedly parading what it described as fake APC primary results.
In a strongly-worded letter referenced INEC/IMS/S.M/IX/49, dated 9 October 2026, addressed to the Commissioner of Police (CP), Imo State Command, and the DSS Director, a copy of which was obtained by People&Politics, the electoral umpire declared the document being paraded by Rochas as fake and urged the security agencies to investigate the former governor.
INEC declared that the authentic document about the APC primary in its (INEC’s) custody showed that Gov. Uzodinma won the primary, with his name consequently duly forwarded to it by the APC as the candidate for Imo West.
In the letter, which was signed by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Imo State, Barrister Chukwuemeka C. Ibeziako, INEC declared that it was reporting a case of “fraudulent and fictitious All Progressive Congress senatorial party primary report for Imo State dated 18th May, 2026.”
It raised the alarm that contrary to the document duly signed by APC and forwarded to its headquarters with Gov. Uzodinma as clear winner of the primary election, the one circulating on the social media purported Rochas as the winner.
INEC wrote: “The fictitious document wrongly presented Senator Ethelbert Rochas Okorocha as the elected candidate for the party,” stressing that this was contrary to the name of Senator Goodhope Odidika Uzodinma which was forwarded to INEC National Headquarters “as the duly elected candidate of the party.”
While enclosing the original results that declared Uzodinma as rightful winner of the primary as well as the purported fake one being allegedly paraded by Rochas, INEC urged the police and the DSS to thoroughly investigate the alleged forgery.
“In these circumstances, I urge you to graciously use your good offices to investigate and neutralise this spurious conduct that has serious likelihood of causing the breakdown of law and order in Imo State,” INEC stated.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Rochas (l) and Gov. Uzodinma.
