Nollywood actress and singer Angela Okorie has regained her freedom after being rearrested by operatives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command shortly after her release from custody.
Okorie was earlier freed from the Suleja Correctional Centre on Tuesday after meeting her bail conditions in a defamation case. However, moments after leaving the facility, she was rearrested by police officers and taken to the FCT Police Command in Abuja.
Sources familiar with the development said the rearrest was not linked to any new criminal allegation but to what police described as a “debt-related issue”.
“She was initially rearrested after being freed from prison in Suleja. A police team picked her up over alleged debt issues and brought her to the FCT Command for detention,” a source said.
The incident was said to be connected to a dispute over legal fees. In a video shared on Instagram, actress Doris Ogala alleged that Okorie’s rearrest followed a complaint by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) over an unpaid N5 million fee for legal services reportedly rendered to secure her bail.
According to Ogala, the SAN was engaged through a third party during Okorie’s detention. The situation allegedly escalated when Okorie denied responsibility for the arrangement and declined to pay the agreed fee, despite claims that the intermediary had already made a deposit.
Following interventions by Okorie’s legal team, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the FCT Command reportedly ordered her release.
Her lawyer, Marshal Abubakar, confirmed the development to journalists.
“They have released Angela Okorie from the FCT Police Command. The Commissioner of Police ordered that she be released to me,” Abubakar said.