… as Abia State Govt washes hands off rumour
Former Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has dismissed as “laughable” viral reports claiming that he was sentenced to death by hanging for allegedly stealing N1 trillion during his tenure.
The fake story, which trended on social media, alleged that an Abia State High Court handed him the death penalty after funds were discovered in a foreign account linked to him.
Reacting during an interview with ABN TV on Tuesday, Ikpeazu described the report as a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, stressing that such fabrication could only come from desperate political actors. “This is not news, it is laughable,” he said.
His former Commissioner for Information, John Okiyi Kalu, condemned the rumour as hate speech and urged security agencies, especially the DSS, to track down its sponsors. He alleged that political opponents loyal to Governor Alex Otti were behind the smear campaign, adding that similar falsehoods had previously been circulated against Ikpeazu.
But in a swift reaction, Ferdinand Ekeoma, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Governor Otti, distanced the governor from the controversy. Writing on his verified Facebook page, Ekeoma argued that Otti had no reason to sponsor such malicious content, describing the allegation as an attempt by Ikpeazu’s loyalists to curry favour from their principal.
“It is ridiculous to imagine that Governor Otti, who has always maintained the most decent and responsible style of opposition politics in Abia, would stoop so low to propagate such trash,” Ekeoma wrote. “What exactly would he gain from it?”
The controversy has stirred heated debates in Abia’s political circles, reflecting the deepening rivalry between Ikpeazu’s camp and the current administration. For many observers, the fake death sentence saga underlines how political battles in the state are increasingly being fought through disinformation and smear tactics in the digital space.
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