A Magistrate Court in Abuja has issued bench warrants for the arrest of former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, and former Senator Ifeanyi Araraume over allegations of criminal conspiracy, forgery and the use of false documents.
Two other persons including, Timothy Ama Chuks and Amen Okorocha, were also listed in the warrants over their alleged involvement in the case.
The court authorised police officers across Nigeria to arrest the four suspects and produce them before Senior Magistrate Court 3 in Jiwa, Abuja.
Politics Nigeria reports that the warrants, dated September 9, 2026, were issued in two cases with suit numbers CR/M/JW/084/2026 and CR/M/JW/085/2026, instituted by the Inspector-General of Police against the four individuals.
The development comes amid a petition by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which has asked the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate Okorocha over allegations that he circulated forged All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election results.
INEC accused the former governor of parading a document that falsely presented him as the winner of the APC senatorial primary for Imo West Senatorial District, also known as Orlu Zone.
In a letter dated October 8, 2026, the commission urged the Commissioner of Police in Imo State and the state’s DSS counterpart to investigate the alleged forgery.
The letter was signed by the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Imo State, Chukwuemeka Ibeziako.
INEC described the document in circulation as a “fraudulent and fictitious All Progressives Congress senatorial party primary report for Imo State dated 18th May, 2026.”
According to the commission, the authentic results submitted by the APC identified Governor Hope Uzodimma as the winner of the primary election. It said Uzodimma’s name was subsequently forwarded to the commission as the party’s candidate for the senatorial district.
INEC maintained that the document being circulated on social media contradicted the results officially submitted by the APC.
“The fictitious document wrongly presented Senator Ethelbert Rochas Okorocha as the elected candidate for the party,” the commission stated.
The electoral body said it had attached copies of the authentic results and the disputed document to its petition to enable the security agencies to examine the alleged discrepancies.
It urged the police and the DSS to investigate the matter, warning that the alleged conduct could threaten public order in Imo State.
“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 said.
The commission’s intervention adds to the legal troubles surrounding the disputed APC primary results, with the arrest warrants identifying four individuals in connection with allegations of conspiracy, forgery and the presentation of false documents.
In a separate development, the High Court sitting in Koton-Karfe, Kogi State, has dismissed a suit challenging the tenure of local government officials, ruling that the state’s electoral law does not conflict with the Electoral Act or the 1999 Constitution.
Justice Aminu Eri delivered the judgment on Friday, holding that the claimant failed to establish any inconsistency between the Kogi State Local Government Law, the Electoral Act and the Constitution.
The suit was filed by a former councillor in Ibaji Local Government Council who challenged his removal from office after two years.
The claimant had sought an interpretation of Section 50 and Sections 25 and 26 of the Kogi State Local Government Law 2023, as amended in 2025.
Through his legal team led by J.A. Akubo (SAN), alongside T.U. Odoma, S.S. Udaa and A.O. Apeh, the claimant argued that the two-year and three-year tenure provisions in the state laws violated Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution.
He urged the court to recognise a four-year tenure for local government officials, relying on Sections 112 and 253 of the Electoral Act 2026, which provide for a four-year tenure for Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council officials.
The defendants, including the Kogi State Government, the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) and the Kogi State House of Assembly, opposed the suit.
Their lawyers argued that the Constitution empowers state Houses of Assembly to legislate on local government elections and related matters. They maintained that the state had not violated any constitutional provision in determining the tenure of chairmen, vice chairmen and councillors.
In his judgment, Justice Eri held that the Constitution does not expressly prescribe the tenure of local government chairmen, vice chairmen and councillors.
He said the authority to legislate on the matter rests with the State House of Assembly and dismissed the suit for lacking merit.
Counsel to the Kogi State House of Assembly, S.A. Abbas and Abdulwahab Zakari, welcomed the judgment, describing it as an affirmation of the legislature’s authority to determine the tenure of local government officials through state laws.
The claimant’s counsel said the legal team would study the judgment, noting that the court had ruled that the state’s law was not inconsistent with the Electoral Act and the Constitution.
