Former Imo State governorship candidate, Uche Nwosu, was on Sunday arrested during a service at St Peter’s Anglican Church, Eziama Obieri in Nkwerre Local Government Area.
Photos of the treatment he got from police after the arrest has surfaced. In the trending photos, Nwosu had been stripped of his top and was in handcuffs.
Meanwhile, the Imo State Police command has reportedly freed a former governorship candidate of Action Alliance in the state, Uche Nwosu, after whisking him away from a church service in the state on Sunday.
Nwosu was arrested while attending his mother’s funeral service at the St Peters Anglican Church, Eziama Obire, in Nkwere Local Government Area of the state.
But his Special Adviser on Media, Nwadike Chikezie, revealed in a statement that Nwosu was released unconditionally late Sunday.
The statement reads partly, “The act of desecrating the House of God we all know a direct affront and challenge to God Almighty. We leave God to do his fight because vengeance is of God but to all Christians, does it now mean that the Government has no more respect for God and does it now mean that the House of God is no more a place one can take refuge? God prove your answers.
“While we await police report on why the abduction and arrest, we call on everyone to remain calm and focused because God is in charge of the whole situation”.
The police had on Sunday refuted reports that Nwosu was kidnapped. They state’s police command confirmed that the politician was arrested by its operatives but was silent as to why he was arrested.
The Imo State government has also reacted to the arrest of Mr Uche Nwosu, saying the police have the right to arrest him if suspected of any crime.
Addressing reporters on Sunday in Owerri hours after the incident, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Imo, Declan Emelumba, stated that it was not in anybody’s place to tell the police how to arrest a suspect.
He also faulted the reaction of the immediate past governor of Imo, Rochas Okorocha, to the arrest of Nwosu, the latter’s son-in-law.
“What is the haste in this press conference trying to politicise an ordinary thing,” the commissioner said of the briefing convened earlier by the former governor.
“Uche Nwosu is just an indigene of Imo State and a citizen of Nigeria, and if he has run afoul of the law, the police have every right to arrest him, and nobody should dictate to them how they do it.
“It depends on the gravity of the offence, and it depends on the information at their (police) disposal.”
Earlier, there was panic at Eziama-Obaire in Nkwerre Local Government Area of Imo as security operatives stormed St. Peter’s Anglican Church and left with Nwosu.
The heavily armed operatives stormed the church with high-powered security vehicles, shooting sporadically into the air before arresting Okorocha’s son-in-law.
Emelumba described the claim by Okorocha, in which he accused the state government of instigating Nwosu’s arrest, as untrue and disgusting.
According to him, the former governor is just trying to whip up sentiments and speaking from a state of panic and guilt.
The commissioner asked the former governor to desist from such an act and allow the security operatives who already confirmed the arrest of Nwosu to do their duty.
He stressed that the state government has no hands in the arrest of Okorocha’s son-in-law.
“What is painful is that a former governor of this state, Rochas Okorocha, is busy raining abuses on His Excellency, Governor of Imo State [Hope Uzodinma], and saying all manner of things about him.
“I don’t want to join issues with him,” said Emelumba.
Amid reports that Nwosu might have been abducted by gunmen whose identity was unknown, police authorities in the state said he was in their custody.
“This is to inform the general public that Chief Uche Nwosu was not kidnapped but was arrested by the police and Imo State Police Command is aware of the arrest and presently he is in police custody,” said Michael Abattam who is the Police Public Relations Officer in Imo.
“This is to refute the earlier news that has been making rounds on social media that he was kidnapped by unknown persons/gunmen.”
