A Senior Magistrate Court sitting in Abuja has issued bench warrants for the arrest of former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, and Senator Ifeanyi Araraume over allegations of criminal conspiracy, forgery and the use of false documents.
The court also ordered the arrest of Timothy Ama Chuks and Amen Okorocha, who were accused of conspiring with the former governor to forge and submit purported All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election results allegedly indicating that Okorocha won the party’s senatorial ticket.
The warrants authorise police officers nationwide to arrest the four accused persons and produce them before Senior Magistrate Court 3 in Jiwa, Abuja.
Issued on September 9, 2026, the warrants list criminal conspiracy, forgery and the presentation of false documents among the allegations against the defendants.
The case was instituted by the Inspector-General of Police against the four individuals.
The development comes amid a separate move by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to have security agencies investigate Okorocha over allegations that he circulated purported APC primary election results that the commission has rejected as fake.
INEC maintained that the authentic results submitted to it by the APC showed that Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, won the senatorial primary for Imo West Senatorial District, popularly known as Orlu Zone.
The commission further stated that the APC subsequently submitted Uzodimma’s name as its candidate for the district.
In a letter dated October 8, 2026, and addressed to the Commissioner of Police in Imo State and the state director of the Department of State Services (DSS), INEC called for an investigation into the disputed document allegedly being circulated by Okorocha.
The letter, signed by the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Imo State, Chukwuemeka Ibeziako, described the matter as a case of “fraudulent and fictitious All Progressives Congress senatorial party primary report for Imo State dated 18th May, 2026.”
INEC raised concerns that a document allegedly being circulated on social media contradicted the results officially submitted by the APC to its headquarters.
According to the commission, the authentic result identified Uzodimma as the winner of the primary, while the disputed document purportedly presented Okorocha as the victorious candidate.
“The fictitious document wrongly presented Senator Ethelbert Rochas Okorocha as the elected candidate for the party,” INEC said.
The electoral body reportedly attached copies of the original results submitted by the APC, alongside the disputed document, to its letter to the security agencies.
Urging the police and the DSS to conduct a thorough investigation, INEC warned of the potential security implications of the alleged conduct.
“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,” INEC charged the police and the DSS.
