Former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha has denied reports that he was arrested by the police, insisting that he was neither detained nor released on bail.
His denial contradicts the account given by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). Police spokesperson Aniete Iniedu told Channels Television that Okorocha was arrested at Reiz Continental Hotel in Abuja on Monday night and released on bail after an hour of interrogation.
The police said the arrest followed allegations of criminal conspiracy, forgery and impersonation.
The reported arrest came days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police over a document circulating on social media that listed Okorocha as the winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary for Imo West Senatorial District.
Okorocha says court order was vacated
In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by his chief press secretary and special adviser on media, Sam Onwuemeodo, Okorocha accused the Imo State Government of orchestrating what he described as a witch-hunt.
In the statement, titled “We’ve Been Vindicated. Falsehood Has Never Prevailed Over Truth. Truth Is Sacred”, the former governor maintained that no valid court order authorised his arrest.
“Again, their latest story that Owelle Okorocha was arrested and released after one hour is also not true. And we equally stand to be contradicted,” the statement reads.
“They tell the lies. We tell the truth. The whole truth. And nothing but the truth. They market falsehood. We market facts. The truth. Okorocha was never arrested. There was no bail. There was no statement. And let them prove us wrong.
“They attached the same court order they had made reference to, dated September 9, 2026, to the press release. Later, the same day, Monday, October 12, 2026, they came up with another cock and bull story that the former Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha had been arrested.”
Okorocha, who governed Imo State from 2011 to 2019, said he had served the state to the best of his ability and remained committed to defending his record.
He further maintained that the court order dated September 9, 2026, had been vacated by the same court five days later.
“The court order they had used to deceive the general public was dated September 9, 2026. The same court order was vacated by the same court on September 14, 2026,” he said.
He added: “You then ask, a court order issued on September 9, 2026, and vacated on September 14, 2026, by the same court that issued it, could it be alive in October 2026? The answer is expectedly, no.”