Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has threatened to demand retractions and apologies from media organisations that reported that a court ordered his arrest over alleged criminal conspiracy and forgery.
Okorocha, who represented Imo West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, dismissed the report as false and politically motivated, challenging those behind the publication to produce the alleged court order within 48 hours.
The former governor made his position known in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser on Media, Sam Onwuemeodo.
The statement was a response to a report titled “Court Orders Arrest of Okorocha, Araraume, Others for Criminal Conspiracy, Forgery”, which circulated in the media and was reportedly first promoted by Ambrose Nwaogwugwu, a media aide to Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma.
According to Okorocha’s camp, the report claimed that a Senior Magistrate Court sitting in Abuja had issued a bench warrant dated September 9, 2026, against the former governor, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume and others.
The alleged warrant was linked to a petition reportedly submitted by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Imo State, Chukwuemeka Ibejiako, to the police and the Department of State Services on October 8, 2026.
The petition reportedly sought an investigation into a document circulating in connection with the All Progressives Congress senatorial primary for Imo West.
However, Okorocha’s camp insisted that no court had issued an arrest warrant against him, demanding that those spreading the report substantiate their claims.
“We want to strongly state, and we stand to be contradicted, that no court, whether that of Senior Magistrate or High Court, had ordered or issued any bench warrant for the arrest of Okorocha,” the statement declared.
OKOROCHA QUESTIONS DATES
In challenging the report, the former governor’s camp pointed to an apparent discrepancy in the dates attached to the alleged court order and the petition said to have triggered it.
Onwuemeodo noted that the purported warrant was dated September 9, 2026, while the petition allegedly responsible for the court action was dated October 8, 2026.
The statement questioned how a petition submitted in October could have resulted in a warrant issued in September.
“This is what you get when people decide to deceive, or to chase shadow,” the statement said.
Okorocha’s camp maintained that INEC and its Imo REC had neither petitioned against the former governor personally nor indicted him over the disputed document.
Rather, it argued, the electoral commission had asked security agencies to investigate a document in circulation that purported to declare Okorocha the winner of the APC primary for Imo West Senatorial District.
The allegations surrounding the document and the authenticity of the purported arrest warrant remain separate issues, and the claims against Okorocha should not be treated as established criminal wrongdoing.
MEDIA HOUSES FACE RETRACTION DEMAND
Turning its attention to the media organisations that published the arrest report, Okorocha’s camp demanded that they produce the alleged court order within 48 hours.
It further insisted that any outlet unable to substantiate the report should retract the publication and tender an apology after the ultimatum expires.
The statement also accused some media aides to Uzodimma of using their positions to attack Okorocha and other political figures, including Araraume.
It urged political actors to avoid inflammatory exchanges as the country approaches the 2027 general elections, particularly those claiming to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The former governor’s camp concluded by asking members of the public to disregard the report that a court had ordered his arrest.
Whether the alleged bench warrant exists remains the central issue in the dispute, with Okorocha’s camp insisting that those who reported it must provide documentary proof.
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