Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force to investigate a document circulating on social media that purportedly named former Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha as the winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary for Imo West.
Gatekeepers News reports that separate letters dated October 5 and October 8, 2026, Chukwuemeka Ibeziako, INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Imo State, described the circulating document as fictitious and inconsistent with the official report submitted to the commission’s national headquarters.
According to the electoral commission, the authentic report, dated May 18, 2026, identified Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as the duly elected APC candidate for the Imo West senatorial district ahead of the 2027 general election.
In his letter to the DSS state director, Ibeziako said his attention had been drawn to the disputed document circulating on social media, which allegedly presented Okorocha as the winner of the party’s primary.
“Unfortunately, the fictitious document wrongfully presented Senator Ethelbert Rochas Okorocha as the elected candidate for the Party,” the letter reads.
The REC said he attached the report held by his office as “Annexure A” and the disputed document as “Annexure B” to facilitate the investigation.
He urged the DSS to investigate the matter, warning that the circulation of the document could trigger a breakdown of law and order in the state.
Ibeziako subsequently sent a similar complaint to the Imo State Commissioner of Police in a letter dated October 8, asking the police to investigate the alleged circulation of the disputed result.
The development comes amid a legal dispute between Okorocha, INEC, Uzodimma and the APC over the party’s senatorial ticket for Imo West.
Okorocha had approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging INEC’s recognition of Uzodimma as the party’s candidate for the district.
In his suit, the former governor asked the court to determine whether INEC was bound by the reports of its officials who monitored the APC primary conducted on May 18.
He also questioned the commission’s decision to publish Uzodimma’s name as the party’s candidate, citing Section 183 of the 1999 Constitution, which prohibits a sitting governor from holding another executive office or paid employment while in office.
Okorocha is seeking an order directing INEC to recognise him as the duly nominated APC candidate for the senatorial election.
The dispute has drawn further attention because Uzodimma’s current tenure as governor is expected to end in January 2028, while the next Senate is scheduled to be inaugurated in June 2027.
INEC’s petition asks security agencies to establish the circumstances surrounding the disputed document and take appropriate action. The allegations concerning the document remain subject to investigation.
