Prominent activist and lawyer, Chinedu Agu, has accused the Imo State Government of being behind his recent arrest, which he claims was based on a fabricated petition and politically motivated charges.
Agu, a former secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Owerri branch, was recently granted bail by the Federal High Court in Owerri after being arraigned on allegations of criminal defamation, incitement and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace, all charges he has pleaded not guilty to.
In a public statement titled “Criminal Defamation or Criminal Intimidation: Exposing Phantom Charges Against Me”, Agu alleged that the charges were engineered by the Imo State Commissioner for Information, and described the case as an act of political persecution.
“The petition that led to my arrest is fake. The so-called group behind it, the Imo Democratic Alliance, allegedly led by one Umukoro Marvis Udechukwu, is a ghost entity. It’s not registered anywhere in Nigeria and has no identifiable address,” Agu stated.
Recounting the sequence of events, Agu said he was contacted by a police officer on September 12, who informed him of a petition accusing him of defaming the Governor of Imo State.
Initially told the petition came from the Ministry of Information, he later encountered resistance when he requested a copy.
“I was told I couldn’t be given the petition unless I applied formally for a Certified True Copy from the Commissioner of Police,” he said, describing the process as a clear violation of his constitutional rights under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees fair hearing and access to evidence.
When he was eventually shown the petition, Agu described it as “poorly produced,” with a suspiciously flashy letterhead, no return address and accusations based on two of his published articles “Tears From Enugu: A Lawyer’s Heartbreaking Diary” and “Imo State – Where Justice Is On Vacation During Court Vacation.”
“The complaint alleges that my writings are meant to incite rebellion. That is absurd. Everything I wrote is based on truth, and truth is a complete defense to defamation,” he asserted.
He further revealed that a search of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) showed that the Imo Democratic Alliance does not legally exist, calling its use in legal proceedings a criminal abuse of process.
Agu credited his release and the attention the case has received to the massive support of the legal community and civil society, noting that 72 lawyers accompanied him to the police station in solidarity.
“If not for the principled stance of Imo magistrates and the unity shown by my colleagues and supporters, I would have been detained long before now,” he said.
In conclusion, Agu affirmed his commitment to due process but questioned the motivations behind his arrest.
“I am not afraid of facing the law. But this doesn’t appear to be about justice, it’s about intimidation,” he declared.
