A Senior Magistrate’s Court sitting at Jiwa, Abuja, has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a former Governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, and a former Senator, Ifeanyi Araraume, over allegations of criminal conspiracy, forgery and uttering false documents in connection with the All Progressives Congress senatorial primary for the Imo West (Orlu) zone.
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The warrant, dated 9 September 2026, also names Timothy Ama Chuks and Amen Okorocha. The allegation recited against the four is that they conspired to forge and tender false APC primary results representing Senator Rochas Okorocha as the winner of the party’s Imo West senatorial primary.
By its terms, police officers throughout Nigeria are authorised to arrest the four named persons and produce them before Senior Magistrate’s Court 3, Jiwa, Abuja.
The matter is recorded under case numbers CR/M/JW/084/2026 and CR/M/JW/085/2026, between the Inspector-General of Police and the four persons named.
The offences recited are criminal conspiracy, forgery, and uttering false documents.
Separately, the Independent National Electoral Commission has written to the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, and to his Department of State Services counterpart, disowning a document in circulation which presents Senator Okorocha as the winner of the APC primary.
INEC’s position is that the authentic document before it, submitted by the APC, shows Governor Hope Uzodimma as the winner of the primary, and that it was Governor Uzodimma’s name that the party duly forwarded to the Commission as its candidate for the Imo West Senatorial District.
The letter is dated 8 October 2026 and signed by the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Imo State, Barr. Chukwuemeka C. Ibeziako. In it, the Commission says it is reporting a case of:
“fraudulent and fictitious All Progressives Congress Senatorial party primary report for Imo State dated 18th May, 2026”
The Commission states that, contrary to the document signed by the APC and forwarded to its headquarters showing Governor Uzodimma as the winner of the primary election, a different document circulating on social media presents Senator Okorocha as the winner.
“The fictitious document wrongly presented Senator Ethelbert Rochas Okorocha as the elected candidate for the party”
INEC enclosed, with the letter, both the result it says is original and declared Governor Uzodimma the winner, and the document it says is fake, and asked the two agencies to 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 a serious likelihood of causing the breakdown of law and order in Imo State”
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