Former Governor Rochas Okorocha detained in Nigeria — Premium Times Nigeria

Police in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, detained former Imo State governor and former Imo West senator Rochas Okorocha. After about an hour of questioning, the politician was released on bail, Premium Times Nigeria reports.

Detention and questioning

Okorocha was detained on Monday evening at the REIZ Continental hotel in central Abuja. Police spokesperson Aniete Iniedu confirmed to Channels TV that, according to police, the detention was related to allegations of criminal conspiracy, forgery, and impersonation.

According to the spokesperson, the former governor was asked to appear at police headquarters on Tuesday for further questioning, as the investigation is ongoing. Police also said that Okorocha had failed to respond to previous summonses concerning these allegations. He was initially summoned to headquarters on September 2, but the meeting was moved to September 8 at the request of his lawyers. According to the publication, he also did not appear on that date.

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Dispute over the primaries

Okorocha is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress party and sought nomination as the candidate for the Imo West constituency. At the party’s primaries on May 18, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma won and was subsequently recognized by Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission.

At the same time, another document emerged according to which Okorocha allegedly won the primaries with 150,780 votes. Under the initial results, Uzodimma received 230,464 votes and Okorocha received 1,098. The electoral commission asked the State Security Service and police to verify the origin and authenticity of the disputed document. In August, Okorocha also filed a lawsuit against the commission, Uzodimma, and the party.