A Senior Magistrate Court sitting in Abuja has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of former Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha and a former Senator, Ifeanyi Araraume over criminal conspiracy, forgery and presenting of fraudulent papers.
Timothy Ama Chuks and Amen Okorocha have also been ordered to be arrested, having plotted with Rochas Okorocha to counterfeit and offer phoney APC results as having been won by the former governor, Channels TV reported.
It stated that, by the bench warrant, all police officers in Nigeria are empowered to arrest Okorocha, Araraume, Timothy Chuks and Amen Okorocha and bring them before the Senior Magistrate Court 3, Jiwa, Abuja.
The arrest warrants followed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s call on the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to probe Okorocha for the parade of bogus All Progressives Congress (APC) primary results.
The suspects were charged with criminal conspiracy, forgery and uttering false papers by virtue of bench warrant dated September 09, 2026.
In the cases CR/M/JW/084/2026 and CR/M/JW/085/2026, the parties are the Inspector General of Police and four wanted persons.
INEC has also denied a paper being distributed by Okorocha, claiming he won the primaries.
It said that the original document submitted to it by the APC proved that Governor Hope Uzodimma won the primaries, on which his name was duly submitted to it by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the candidate for the Imo West Senatorial Zone (Orlu zone).
In a strongly written letter to the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command and his DSS counterpart, INEC said the paper being paraded by Okorocha was fraudulent and requested the security services to probe the former governor.
INEC, in a letter with reference number INEC/IMOS/VOI/007/6 and signed by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Imo State, Chukwuemeka Ibeziako, dated October 8, 2026, said it was reporting a case of “fraudulent and fictitious All Progressives Congress senatorial party primary report for Imo State dated 18th May, 2026.”
It raised the alarm that the paper legally signed by APC and sent to its headquarters had Uzodimma as the unambiguous winner of the primary election while the one doing the rounds on social media claimed Okorocha as the victor, hence the appeal.
“The fake document wrongly identified Senator Ethelbert Rochas Okorocha as the party’s candidate for the election,” INEC added.
INEC requested the police and the DSS to examine the forgery thoroughly while presenting the actual results that declared Uzodimma the authentic winner of the primary and the phoney one being exhibited by Okorocha.
“Under the circumstances, I plead with 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.” INEC summoned the police and the DSS.
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