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General News of Friday, 10 March 2023

Source: legit.ng

Fresh tension as court remands Former Deputy Governor in prison few days to election

Gerald Irona Gerald Irona

Gerald Irona, the immediate past deputy governor of Imo state, has been remanded in prison custody by a magistrate court in Owerri, the state capital.

C.N Ezerioha, the presiding magistrate of the court, gave the verdict stating that the chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should be remanded in the Owerri correctional centre after hearing from the prosecuting and defence counsels, The Punch reported.

The magistrate then stated that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the suit.

Irona deputised Emeka Ihediora, who governed the state between May 29, 2019, and January 14, 2020. On Wednesday, March 8, it was reported that the police arrested the former deputy governor.

However, a statement from his media aide, Destiny Ugorji, confirmed that Irona met all the bail conditions, but there was pressure from the state government to keep him in custody till after the state house of assembly election earlier scheduled for Saturday, March 11.

In the statement, Ugorji alleged that the arrest of Irona was a move by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government to suppress the opposition in the state.

He alleged that the arrest of the former deputy governor was politically motivated and Governor Hope Uzodimma of the state was clearly behind the plot.