Speaking with newsmen in Owerri, the state capital today, December 28, Nwosu, a son-in-law to a former governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha, said his arrest was sanctioned by the state governor, Hope Uzodinma.

Recounting his ordeal, Nwosu said he was arrested in church, stripped half-naked, handcuffed, taken to Enugu airport, and boarded a chartered aircraft to Abuja on the orders of the state governor.

He said that he had no hands in the insecurity in the state, saying that the young man who accused him in a viral video of giving him money to escalate insecurity in the state was asked to implicate him.

Nwosu, in an emotional-laden voice, said those who “abducted me were masked, hijacked me in church and manhandled me; they ordered me to lie on the floor in the vehicle and one of them rested one of his legs on my head.”

“When they drove off, they started making calls in Hausa, and unknown to them I understand Hausa. They were telling one Shaba, who is the Chief Security Officer that they have got me. At Umuaka, they stopped and ordered that I should get down. At that point, I thought they were to assassinate me. They bundled me into another vehicle and they drove off.

When we got to Owerri, three other vehicles drove straight to the government house and the one carrying me drove towards Okigwe Road, and I asked them where they were taking me to but they never responded to me. They drove towards Okigwe and stopped. At this point, I thought they wanted to assassinate me. They asked me to remove my cloth, handcuffed me, snapped me, made a video, and sent it to the governor’s CSO.

We continued until we go to Enugu airport. We waited for about 90 minutes before a chartered flight arrived. We boarded and we landed in Abuja. We moved to force headquarters and we did interviews. They accused me of sponsoring insecurity in Imo State. I want to thank the IGP who intervened and ordered my release.”he said

Armed security men stormed the church during mass, shot sporadically into the air before whisking Nwosu away.

IPOB in a statement released by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, said if not for the fighting spirit of Nwosu’s family, the Uzodinma-led government would have blamed its militia wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN), for the “abduction of the politician.”

“We the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) condemn the abduction of Uche Nwosu in the church.

This is another vindication that IPOB and Eastern Security Network (ESN) are not responsible for the numerous attacks, abductions/kidnappings in Imo State contrary to false accusations and propaganda by Hope Uzodinma and his co-travellers.

The incident has also further confirmed the complicity of Hope Uzodinma and the All Progressives Congress party in the insecurity going on in Imo State and the South-East region.

But for the dexterity and fighting spirit of Nwosu’s family and associates, Hope Uzodinma, his co-travellers and some infamous media houses would have, as usual, pointed accusing fingers at ESN, IPOB and unknown gunmen. But God Almighty, Chukwu Okike Abiama, has exposed them this time around.

It will not be a surprise if by tomorrow, Hope Uzodinma fingers Uche Nwosu and his in-law Rochas Okorocha as the sponsors of IPOB, ESN, unknown gunmen and insecurity in Imo State. We know his antics and such options may not be out of the table.

For the umpteenth time, no single individual can sponsor IPOB. We are a global movement and millions of our family members home and abroad remain the source of our sponsorship.

We have never hidden this fact because we are not a secret or terror organisation. IPOB is well grounded and we don’t need any Okorocha, Uche Nwosu or Hope Uzodinma or any politician for that matter to sponsor us. We have no dealings with corrupt politicians and people with questionable source of wealth.

It’s now transparently obvious to all who the masterminds of the abductions/killings of many traditional rulers and religious leaders including politicians in Imo State and other parts of South East are.

It is also now clear who created unknown gunmen to demonise and implicate IPOB and ESN operatives.”the statement read