Posted by The alleged kidnapping of Linus Okorie, who is running for a Senate seat for the Labour Party in Ebonyi South, has been called “fake” by the Ebonyi State Police Command.
SP Chris Anyanwu, who works as a spokesman for the Command, told reporters in Abakaliki on Monday that Okorie was just arrested and not taken away.
He said that Okorie, a former member of the House of Representatives, had been arrested for drug crimes and other crimes.
Anyanwu asked people to stop spreading false rumors that give the impression that the state is not safe.
“After the first rumors went viral, someone named Dr. David Ogbonna of the Linus Okorie CaringHeart Foundation sent out a press release saying that the former member of the House of Representatives was taken away on Sunday.
“The State Police Command jumped into action, and later found Okorie, who had avoided many police arrests and invitations, at the Old Government House, where the head office of the Ebubeagu Security Outfit was.
“Police detectives were told why he was arrested, which included his actions and words that incited and sparked the violence that broke out in Onicha Community in 2021, which is when suspected gunmen caused a lot of trouble in the area.
“Because of this, the Police Command has taken over the case and will do a careful investigation.
“Secondly, Okorie was called in several times by the Security and Intelligence Bureau of the Command over a petition from March 23 that was written by the State’s Attorney General/Commissioner for Justice and said that Okorie was spreading false information about Gov. Dave Umahi.
“When the SIB asked Okorie to report on the false allegations/petition, he refused to do so in his usual haughty way. Instead, he chose to sue the Police Command for things that were not true.
“It is also important to note that Okorie has a pending case in which he is accused of a drug crime. Suspects who said they were his agents were arrested for selling and using hard drugs at his City Hub Inn at Mile 50 in Abakaliki,” the spokesman said.