A former secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Owerri department, Chinedu Agu, stated the police in Imo State, Nigeria’s South-east, have invited him for allegedly defaming Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State.
Mr Agu, a lawyer, posted the police invitation letter on his Fb web page on Friday, 9 September.
Within the letter addressed to him, the workplace of the X-Squad Unit of the police in Imo stated they had been inviting him over an alleged felony defamation of character and conduct prone to trigger breach of peace.
The police stated they had been investigating the alleged defamation.
The letter added that the assembly with Mr Agu might be held on Wednesday, 17 September, within the X-Squad workplace on the police headquarters, Owerri.
Nevertheless, the police invitation didn’t disclose who the lawyer allegedly defamed.
‘Imo govt behind police invitation’
Reacting to the police letter, Mr Agu stated in a Fb publish that the invitation stemmed from a petition allegedly lodged by the Imo State Ministry of Data in opposition to him.
The lawyer, who stated he would honour the police invitation, lamented that the state has taken “a thousand steps backwards into an period harking back to army rule, the place freedom of expression is stifled, voices of reality are muffled, and mouths demanding good governance are intentionally gagged”.
“As a citizen and advocate for good governance and human rights, I stay unwavering in my dedication to the constitutional values of democracy, transparency, and accountability,” he stated.
My crimes
In one other Fb publish, Mr Agu said the Imo State Authorities was “haunting” him for talking out on “important points” within the state.
He stated that since March 2025, he has constantly and lawfully exercised his constitutional proper to free expression in calling upon the Imo governor to nominate probably the most certified individual as performing chief choose of the state, following the dismissal of the previous substantive chief choose in November 2024.
In 2024, the Nationwide Judicial Council advisable the duo of the Chief Decide of Imo State, T. E. Chukwuemeka Chikeka, and the Grand Kadi of Yobe State, Babagana Mahdi, for obligatory retirement over falsification of their ages.
Mr Agu stated he pursued this advocacy by way of open letters and by instituting fits earlier than the Excessive Court docket of Imo State.
Extra criticisms
“On twenty sixth August 2025, when it was introduced that the Governor of Imo State would host a Dinner in Enugu for Imo legal professionals attending the Nigerian Bar Affiliation Annual Normal Convention, I authored a bit titled, ‘How Can We Feast Whereas the Home of Justice Burns: A Response to Imo State Authorities’s Invitation to Imo Attorneys for a Welcome Dinner in Enugu’, revealed on twenty seventh August.
“In that article, I criticised the propriety of internet hosting such an occasion in Enugu whereas Imo State remained with out an Performing Chief Decide, an Lawyer-Normal, trip courts, or perhaps a practical Ministry of Lands able to conducting a easy search.”
Mr Agu stated he revealed one other article on 29 August, “Tears from Enugu: A Lawyer’s Heartbreaking Diary from a State that Works to a State in Ruins,” juxtaposing his experiences in Enugu with the “decay in Imo”.
“The Honourable Commissioner for Data, Mr Declan Emelumba, issued a rejoinder wherein he described my piece as ‘Satanic Verses’ and instructed all method of lies in opposition to me. I’ve additionally been a topic of abuse by many media handlers of the federal government since then.
“On 31 August 2025, I revealed one more article titled ‘Imo State: The place Justice is on Trip Throughout Court docket Trip,” decrying the unprecedented absence of trip courts in Imo State—an omission that has by no means occurred within the State’s judicial historical past and one which singularly distinguishes Imo as the one State in Nigeria with out practical trip courts throughout this trip interval. I highlighted the implications for human rights, financial growth, and the rule of legislation.”
The lawyer stated that when images of Nigerian governors, together with the Governor of Imo State, surfaced on 5 September 2025 as they bade farewell to President Bola Tinubu on the airport en path to trip, he authored one other article, “Waving at Planes as Imo Churns is Chasing Rats Whereas the Home Burns.”
He stated the article condemned the frivolity of such outing, whereas the justice sector in Imo lay in a comatose state, and insecurity plagued the state.
“Most just lately, on tenth September 2025, I challenged the constitutionality of the decision of the Imo State Home of Meeting renaming Douglas Street after Governor Hope Uzodinma. I famous that such energy lies with the Owerri Municipal Council, and I urged the Meeting to give attention to its constitutional oversight mandate fairly than trivial pursuits,” Mr Agu stated.
NBA, CSO, police converse on the matter
The Owerri department of the NBA, in a press release on 13 September, referred to as on the Imo State Authorities and the commissioner of police within the state to make sure that the police should not used as a device to suppress free speech.
The NBA directed its workforce to watch the police invitation course of and be certain that Mr Agu’s rights are totally revered.
A civil society organisation, the Rule of Regulation and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), faulted the police invitation to the lawyer.
In accordance with a press release by Government Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, Mr Agu’s solely “offence” seems to be his constant, lawful, and constructive criticism of governance in Imo State – notably on problems with constitutional compliance and the administration of justice.
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The group urged Governor Uzodinma and his spokesperson to desist from allegedly utilizing the police to harass a citizen who’s performing inside the appropriate to freedom of expression assured beneath Part 39 of the 1999 Structure (as amended) and Article 9 of the African Constitution on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the Commissioner for Data in Imo, Declan Emelumba, on 13 September, he denied submitting a petition with the police in opposition to Mr Agu.
The police spokesperson in Imo, Henry Okoye, instructed this newspaper on 14 September that he had seen the invitation letter to Mr Agu however had but to confirm it.
He stated he would get again to our reporter after verifying the letter, however he had but to take action as of the time of submitting this report.
Clampdown on critics
In November 2024, the police arrested a former commissioner for international affairs within the state, Fabian Ihekweme, for his frequent criticism of Governor Uzodinma’s administration.
Mr Ihekweme was later launched in January.
