Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has denied reports that a court ordered his arrest, challenging those behind the claims to publish the alleged warrant within 48 hours.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser on Media, Sam Onwuemeodo, Okorocha insisted that neither a Senior Magistrate Court nor a High Court had issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
The disputed report alleged that a Senior Magistrate Court sitting in Abuja issued an arrest warrant against Okorocha, former Senator Ifeanyi Ararume and others over alleged criminal conspiracy and forgery linked to the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary in Imo West.
However, Okorocha’s camp questioned the timeline presented in the report, noting that the alleged warrant was dated September 9, 2026, while the petition reportedly linked to the case was dated October 8, 2026.
His camp argued that the dates raised questions about how a court order could have preceded the petition said to have prompted it.
The former governor also maintained that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Chukwuemeka Ibejiako, had not petitioned against him or indicted him. According to his aide, the petition sought an investigation into a document circulating online that purported to show Okorocha as the winner of the APC senatorial primary for Imo West.
Okorocha’s camp has demanded that those responsible for circulating the arrest-warrant report publish the alleged court order and identify the magistrate involved within 48 hours.
It also called on media organisations that published the report to retract it and apologise if the alleged warrant cannot be produced.
The dispute comes amid political tensions within the APC in Imo State ahead of the 2027 general elections. The existence of the alleged arrest warrant has not been independently established in the reports reviewed.
