The Anambra State Police Command has refuted rumors circulating about the alleged detention of activist Mr. Bonny Okonkwo at the insistence of prominent business mogul and philanthropist Sir Emeka Offor. 

Okonkwo, a native of Oraifite in the Ekwusigo Local Government Area of the state, was reportedly arrested following a petition against him. 

The activist had published claims that a meter manufacturing company situated in Oraifite, purportedly owned by Offor, was nothing more than an empty warehouse, intended to defraud the Federal Government.

In response, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, issued a statement, discrediting the allegations and accusing Okonkwo’s lawyer of disseminating misinformation. 

According to Ikenga, Okonkwo was apprehended and detained not due to Offor’s influence but for criminal defamation.

Ikenga stated, “Anambra State Police Command wishes to advise the reading public to disregard the misinformation being peddled by the Counsel to one Bonny Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a criminal suspect who was arrested and detained for criminal defamation.”

Addressing the assertion that Offor instigated the arrest, Ikenga dismissed it as baseless, emphasizing the police’s autonomy in carrying out their duties. 

He clarified, “The Police need not be instigated to do its job. A citizen against whom a crime is committed has the right to complain to appropriate authorities, and the Police are mandated by the Constitution to investigate such crime.”

Ikenga insisted that due process was followed in Okonkwo’s arrest and subsequent detention, maintaining that it was both legal and proper. He further explained, “His detention was on the order of the Court. It is therefore both legal and proper.” 

He assured the public that the command would never infringe on citizens’ rights under the influence of a private individual.