Imo NDC crisis deepens, 20 members in court over fake primaries

About 20 members of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Imo State have filed a direct criminal complaint before a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Abuja, accusing two party chieftains of forgery and requesting the immediate intervention of the Inspector-General of Police for arrest and prosecution.

The case, which has been assigned to Court 5, centres on allegations that Babatunde Falli and Teddy Obey issued a falsified nomination list after allegedly collecting payments for expression of interest forms ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to the complainants, drawn from the Imo East Senatorial District, the party’s electoral committee misled aspirants by announcing preparations for primaries that were never conducted, before circulating what they described as fabricated results on June 17.

The group alleged that the disputed document contained names and vote counts from an election that did not take place across state and federal constituencies in Imo.

They further claimed that aspirants paid N3 million for Senate forms, N2 million for House of Representatives, and N1 million for State House of Assembly tickets, in line with the party’s 2027 election guidelines signed by the national leadership between May 13 and May 17.

Some of the complainants also said they made additional payments running into millions of naira as levies and contributions into designated bank accounts, including Fidelity Bank and Globus Bank.

The aggrieved members stated that they complied with screening requirements conducted on May 19 but were later excluded from a transparent primary process, which they insist never held as scheduled.

They alleged that conflicting directives from the electoral committee, including shifting timelines and last-minute instructions on consensus arrangements, contributed to the collapse of the exercise.

The complainants described the publication of the purported results on party communication channels as fraudulent, arguing that it amounted to forgery, breach of trust, and inducement to manipulate electoral outcomes.

They said the alleged actions contravene Sections 118(c), 119(1)(a) and (c), and 124(3) of the Electoral Act 2026.

No date has been fixed for hearing of the matter.