By Ayomide Otitoju
A Senior Magistrate Court sitting in Abuja has issued bench warrants for the arrest of former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, former Senator Ifeanyi Araraume and two others over allegations of criminal conspiracy, forgery and the presentation of false documents.
The other individuals named in the warrants are Timothy Ama Chuks and Amen Okorocha, who are accused of conspiring with the former governor to forge and present false All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary election results purportedly declaring him the winner.
The warrants, dated September 9, 2026, were issued in cases numbered CR/M/JW/084/2026 and CR/M/JW/085/2026, between the Inspector-General of Police and the four accused persons.
The court authorised police officers across Nigeria to arrest the defendants and produce them before Senior Magistrate Court 3 in Jiwa, Abuja.
The development comes as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate Okorocha over his alleged circulation of forged APC primary election results.
In a letter dated October 8, 2026, and signed by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Imo State, Chukwuemeka Ibeziako, INEC reported what it described as a “fraudulent and fictitious All Progressives Congress senatorial party primary report for Imo State dated 18th May, 2026”.
The commission said the official results submitted by the APC to its headquarters identified Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as the winner of the party’s primary for the Imo West Senatorial District, also known as Orlu Zone.
However, INEC said a document circulating on social media purported to show Okorocha as the winner of the primary.
“The fictitious document wrongly presented Senator Ethelbert Rochas Okorocha as the elected candidate for the party,” the commission said.
INEC said it had attached copies of the official results and the disputed document to its letter to the Commissioner of Police in Imo State and the state’s DSS counterpart.
It urged both agencies to investigate the alleged forgery, warning that the circulation of the document could threaten public order in the state.
