The Action Peoples Party (APP) has raised the alarm over an alleged plan by the chairmen of Ideato North and Ideato South Local Government Areas of Imo State, Chukwunonso Okpareke and Okwara Okechukwu, popularly known as Morocco, to demolish campaign and solidarity billboards belonging to the party’s candidates, including House of Representatives member, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere.

The party alleged that the planned demolition would be carried out despite a subsisting interim order of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja restraining the defendants in a suit filed by Ugochinyere from destroying, removing or interfering with his billboards.

The APP, in a statement signed by its APP and GDF Ideato Federal Constituency Media Coordinator, Hon. Charles Okafor, described the alleged plan as illegal and provocative, warning that it could lead to a breach of public peace.

Okafor said the affected billboards, including those belonging to Ugochinyere, the party’s candidates for the Ideato North and South State Assembly constituencies, and its senatorial candidate, Hon. Rufus Omeire, had been duly approved, fully paid for and legally installed.

He said the installations also included solidarity billboards for heads of security agencies.

According to him, the party had drawn the attention of security agencies and members of the public to what it described as an impending criminal action by the two council chairmen.

Okafor said receipts for payments made to the Imo State signage agency, the court order protecting the billboards and an acknowledgment copy of the petition submitted to security agencies were available as evidence.

He alleged that the demolition was being planned within the next five days despite valid orders of the court barring such action.

Okafor said the billboards were fully paid for in accordance with the Imo State signage agency law, which regulates billboard locations, collects applicable revenues and performs other regulatory functions.

He listed the affected installations to include solidarity billboards for security agencies, campaign billboards for the APP, and those of the party’s Ideato South and Ideato North State House of Assembly candidates, Ogugua Mbadiwe and Marcus Ibekwe, respectively.

He also listed the billboards of Ugochinyere, who represents Ideato North/South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, and APP senatorial candidate, Omeire.

“Our security agencies and our people are also informed of this notice to ensure that no criminal element engages in the illegal destruction of the billboards, which have all been legitimately paid for and installed by law, and to ensure that no one violates the order of the Court in any capacity,” Okafor said.

He advised anyone aggrieved by the court order to approach the court that issued it to challenge or appeal the decision rather than resorting to self-help.

“Our lawyers have also been put on standby to commence criminal contempt actions against anyone who destroys our legitimate billboards, and to institute a personal suit for financial damages against anyone who authorizes or engages in their destruction,” he said.

The APP statement followed an interim injunction issued by the FCT High Court in Abuja restraining the Imo State Government, security agencies and the chairmen of Ideato North and Ideato South LGAs from interfering with Ugochinyere’s rallies, meetings and other civic activities, as well as from destroying or removing his billboards.

Ugochinyere had instituted the suit after the Imo State Government, through a letter dated June 15, 2026, limited him to a maximum of six billboards in his Ideato North and South Federal Constituency ahead of the 2027 general election.

Justice Kayode Agunloye issued the interim injunction on July 20 following an ex parte application filed by Ugochinyere through his lawyer, Chibuzor Ezike, in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/153/2026.

The order, signed by the judge and authenticated by the court registrar, Hannatu Simon, restrained the defendants, their agents, officers, staff or anyone acting on their behalf from “destroying, dismantling, defacing, cutting down or ordering the removal and/or demolition” of billboards and signage installed by Ugochinyere across the constituency.

The court also barred the defendants from stopping, barring, denying access to, sealing off or preventing Ugochinyere and his supporters from using venues for peaceful rallies, processions, campaigns, meetings and other civic activities within the Ideato Federal Constituency or elsewhere in Imo State pending the determination of the motion on notice.

Justice Agunloye further restrained the defendants from violating Ugochinyere’s rights to expression, peaceful assembly and movement, including his right to erect or install signage and billboards within the constituency or Imo State.

The court also restrained the security agencies listed as defendants from enforcing or implementing the June 15 letter or any other directive restricting the number of Ugochinyere’s billboards to six.

The agencies were equally barred from providing security cover for anyone seeking to destroy or remove the billboards pursuant to the directive.

The judge ordered an accelerated hearing of the substantive suit and directed that the relevant court processes be served on the defendants through specified offices.

When the matter came up on July 28, the court maintained that the defendants were still within the time allowed by law to file their responses and were entitled to be heard in defence of the suit.

Ugochinyere, through his lawyer, however, urged the court to extend the interim order through the court’s vacation period, arguing that the defendants were not ready to proceed with the interlocutory injunction motion.

Justice Agunloye subsequently extended the interim order until the next adjourned date and adjourned the case to November 4 for hearing.

Against this background, Okafor maintained that any attempt to destroy, dismantle or deface the billboards would amount to a violation of the subsisting court order and attract legal consequences.

“The Electoral law forbids this kind of behavior, which cannot make anyone popular. The signage law also forbids this, and the Court has also restrained these people. Any act of aggression against our property will be treated as a purely criminal action, involving those who act outside the law, with its attendant consequences,” he said.

The APP media coordinator called on security agencies to intervene before the alleged plan could trigger a breakdown of law and order, insisting that the party’s billboards had been legitimately paid for, approved and installed.