The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Imo State has formally petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force over a disputed APC senatorial primary result circulating on social media. The commission described the document, which named Senator Rochas Okorocha as the party's candidate for Imo West Senatorial District, as fictitious and bearing no resemblance to the official report submitted to INEC's national headquarters.
Letters to security agencies
Resident Electoral Commissioner Chukwuemeka Ibeziako signed both letters, dated October 5 and October 8, 2026, and addressed them to the DSS and the Nigeria Police Force. INEC attached copies of both the certified result and the contested document to the petitions, labelling them Annexures A and B respectively, to enable investigators to compare them side by side.
The commission said the circulation of the alleged forgery posed a serious risk to law and order in Imo State. In its letters, INEC urged both the DSS and the police to investigate how the document was produced and how it came to be shared publicly, and to take appropriate action against those responsible. The commission did not name any individual as the source of the disputed document in its petitions.
Authentic result and disputed document
According to the commission, the authentic report, dated May 18, 2026, identified and certified Senator Hope Odidika Uzodinma as the duly elected APC candidate for Imo West Senatorial District. The disputed document circulating on social media, however, listed Okorocha as the winner of the same primary.
Channels TV reported that INEC attached copies of both the certified result and the contested document to the petitions, labelling them Annexures A and B respectively, to enable investigators to compare them side by side.
Court case over primary result
Legit.ng earlier reported that Rochas Okorocha filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja challenging INEC's recognition of Hope Uzodimma as APC's Imo West senatorial candidate. Okorocha claims he won the May 18 APC primary with 150,780 votes against Uzodimma's 102,158, but the returning officer declared Uzodimma the winner with 230,464 votes.
The case raises a constitutional question over whether Uzodimma, whose tenure as governor runs to January 2028, can legally contest the 2027 senatorial election.
