Former Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, has denied reports that a magistrate court issued a bench warrant for his arrest over alleged forgery. In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser on Media, Sam Onwuemeodo, Okorocha insisted that no court had ordered his arrest. He challenged those behind the report to publish the alleged warrant within 48 hours.
The reports claimed that a senior magistrate court in Abuja had ordered Okorocha's arrest alongside former Senator Ifeanyi Araraume and two others over alleged criminal conspiracy, forgery, and the use of false documents. The former governor questioned the timeline of the reported court order, arguing that the dates cited in the report raised doubts about the circumstances surrounding its issuance.
According to Okorocha, the report stated that the bench warrant was issued on September 9, 2026, while the petition said to have prompted the legal action was dated October 8, 2026. He described the sequence as contradictory, noting that the purported court order predated both the petition and the filing of the case.
Okorocha demanded that those circulating the report make the alleged warrant public and identify the magistrate who purportedly issued it. He also questioned whether the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) could have completed an investigation within a day of receiving the petition. The controversy reportedly arose from a petition by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Lagos State, Barrister Ibejiako.
The petition was over a document allegedly circulating online and portraying Okorocha as the winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the Lagos West Senatorial District. However, Okorocha maintained that the petition did not accuse him of any wrongdoing or request his arrest. He said it asked the police and the DSS to investigate the document.
Okorocha argued that, even if the petition had been submitted on October 8, it was unlikely that both security agencies could have concluded their investigations by October 9, when the report about the alleged arrest warrant began circulating. The report that Okorocha disputed also named Araraume, Timothy Ama Chuks, and Amen Okorocha as individuals allegedly involved in the purported forgery and presentation of false APC primary election results.
According to the report, the court authorised police officers across the country to arrest the four individuals and produce them before Senior Magistrate Court 3 in Jiwa, Abuja. The reported warrants were said to relate to two cases, numbered CR/M/JW/084/2026 and CR/M/JW/085/2026, instituted in the name of the Inspector-General of Police against the named individuals.
Key points
- Okorocha challenges those behind the report to publish the alleged warrant within 48 hours.
- The former governor questions the timeline of the reported court order.
- Okorocha maintains that the petition did not accuse him of any wrongdoing or request his arrest.
