Former Imo State Governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha, has denied reports of his arrest by the police, accusing the state government of orchestrating a smear campaign against him.

Okorocha made the denial in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser on Media, Sam Onwuemeodo, on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.

The former governor accused the administration of Governor Hope Uzodimma of spreading false reports about him, describing the alleged campaign as a witch-hunt.

In the statement titled, “We’ve Been Vindicated: Falsehood Has Never Prevailed Over Truth; Truth Is Sacred,” Okorocha insisted that he was never arrested and that no valid court order existed to warrant his detention.

“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. 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,” the statement read in part.

Okorocha, who governed Imo State from 2011 to 2019, said he had served the state to the best of his ability and would continue to defend his record.

He also referred to a statement issued by the Imo State Government through the Commissioner for Information, Mbadike Emelumba, on Monday, October 12, in response to demands for the government to produce the court order reportedly authorising his arrest.

The statement, titled “Bench Warrant: Okorocha’s Lies”, reportedly included a copy of the court order dated September 9, 2026.

According to Okorocha, the state government later circulated reports claiming that he had been arrested.

“They attached the same court order they had made referenced 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,” the statement said.

The former governor maintained that the court order was no longer valid, claiming that the same court had vacated it on September 14, 2026.

“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. 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,” he said.

The claims about the court order and the alleged arrest could not be independently established from the statement provided.