Rochas Okorocha, a former governor of Imo State has raised the alarm over plots by Governor Hope Uzodimma’s government and the police to indict him over attacks on police stations and other public facilities in the state.
The senator representing Imo West in the national assembly while raising the alarm in a statement by his spokesperson, Sam Onwuemeodo, accused the state police command of playing the script of the state government, adding that his detained associates were not involved in the April 5 attacks.
He called on the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba to take over the case file of two of his associates detained at the facilities of the state command headquarters in Owerri.
“The police in Owerri lied and deliberately too. The police obviously lied about Ojukwu Ukonu and Ugbor Casimir, including the date of their arrest. The police arrested Ojukwu Ukonu and Ugbor Casimir and their wives three weeks ago and they have remained in detention with nobody allowed to see them.
“We knew and still know that their arrest was part of the relentless effort to add non-existent flesh to the mentioning of Senator Rochas Okorocha by the state government 24 hours after the police headquarters and correctional centre, Owerri, attacks happened.
“With all these lies, we could only situate the arrest, detention and subsequent parading of Ojukwu Ukonu and Ugbor Casimir in the desperate effort to justify the state government’s hasty mentioning of Okorocha when the Owerri attacks took place, without waiting for the investigation into the ugly incident by relevant security agencies to even commence”.
But the State government in a response to Okorocha’s alarm said the former governor should let the police conclude the investigation instead of politicising the case.
Mr Declan Emelumba, Imo State Commissioner for information said, “If he (Okorocha) said the police arrested two of his associates, there must be a reason for that. So, as a law-abiding citizen, what is expected of him is to expedite action on their investigation and if his associates are indicted, then they stand indicted; if they are not indicated, they will be released. As they say, a clear conscience fears no accusation; so, if his hands are clean, I don’t think he has anything to worry about.”
Abutu Yaro, the state commissioner of police also said they were sticking to professionalism and absolute respect for human lives.
