From Fred Itua, Abuja
The House of Representatives member-elect for Ideato North, South Federal Constituency of Imo State, Ikenga Ugochinyere has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba oover the arrest of Eze Ekene Obinali, the traditional ruler of Umucheke in Umuobom, Ideato South Local Government Area of Imo State.
The monarch was arrested on Wednesday by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the command for allegedly sharing on a WhatsApp platform a write-up that was said to be very critical of the State Governor, Hope Uzodinma.
According to a report,the the media content for which the monarch is being held in police custody had the headline, “Gov Hope Uzodinma in a fresh scandal.”
The said report talked about the role of the late Ahmed Gulak during the 2018 Imo State governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress that produced Uzodinma.
Ugochinyere in a statement on Saturday, while calling for the traditional ruler’s immediate release described the arrest by the state governor, Hope Uzodimma as a show of hatred for Ideato people.
He urged the IGP, Alkali to direct the state controlled police to immediately release the traditional ruler from illegal detention.
According to him, Ideato people will never forgive the governor for the arrest and humiliation of their traditional ruler.
He lamented that the Imo State Government is arresting and flogging traditional rulers for expressing their opinions.