Ex- Imo commissioner whereabouts unknown amid conflicting reports of arrest, abduction

The whereabouts of Dr Fabian Ihekweme, the immediate past Commissioner for Foreign Affairs in Imo State known for publicly criticising Governor Hope Uzodinma, still remains unknown amid conflicting reports of arrest by officers of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and abduction by unknown gunmen.

The Guardian learnt that Ihekweme was whisked away from his apartment on Wednesday afternoon.

In a video making rounds on social media platforms, a woman who identified herself as the wife of the ex-commissioner, said her husband’s driver was brought to her house by some unknown people who directed him to call her husband.

“They first took my husband’s driver to my house and gave him the phone to call my husband, and when he came out, they picked him up,” said the woman.

She added that she had no business with the politics of Imo State and was oblivious to why they were trailing her and her children.

READ ALSO: Ihekweme got N100m to rubbish Uzodimma ahead of 2027, group alleges

“I do not know why they are trailing me; I don’t have any business with Imo politics; I don’t know why they are trailing my children.

“I don’t know where my husband is. They are still holding him now; Ndi Imo, please help me,” she pleaded.

A day after this video went public on social media, Deji Adeyanju, a lawyer, posted on Twitter, implying that the police arrested Ihekweme in front of his wife and children in their Abuja residence and whisked him to Owerri.

“Dr Fabian Ihekweme, a critic, was abducted by policemen yesterday in front of his wife and children in their Abuja home and taken to Owerri. His crime: criticizing Hope Uzodinma, Imo state governor. Like Uzodinma, like Burna Boy,” Adeyanju wrote on Thursday morning.

Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Force PRO, did not respond when The Guardian called for comments on Thursday afternoon.

Marvis Udechukwu, the Executive Director of the Imo Democratic Alliance for Transparency (IDAT), had accused Ihekweme of collecting N100 million to dent Uzodinma’s image ahead of the 2027 Imo elections.