The National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Chief Emeka Rollas, has been arrested and detained by the police in Umuahia, Abia State.
Rollas was arrested over his alleged role in the imposition of an unelected chairman on the Abia State chapter of the guild.
This development follows the election of David Onyebuchi Amalaha as the Chairman of the AGN Abia State chapter on May 20, 2023, in Umuahia, the state capital.
Since the election, the guild has been engrossed in a series of legal fireworks initiated by Amalaha, who has sought to prevent the imposition of interim leadership by the AGN’s national body.
Some guild members, including Chika Okezie, Egwuatu Daniel, and Nathaniel Nwoko, spoke to journalists about the incident.
They accused Chief Rollas of sowing discord among members in Abia State by appointing over five interim chairmen since 2023, bypassing the will of the guild’s members.
The controversy escalated on Thursday when Chief Rollas convened a meeting in Umuahia without consulting key stakeholders or the elected chairman, Amalaha.
This action sparked protests from some members, leading to a disruption of the meeting. Police were called to the scene to restore order.
According to sources, a petition had already been filed against Chief Rollas at the zone 9 headquarters.
He was subsequently detained alongside Emmanuel Ehumadu, popularly known as Labista.
AGN REPLY
ACTORS GUILD OF NIGERIA DEBUNKS ARREST OF THE NATIONAL PRESIDENT …….
Our attention has been drawn to news making the rounds in local Abia blogs claiming that the AGN National President Dr Ejezie Emeka Rollas MON was arrested and detained by the police in Umuahia., Abia State.
Ordinarily these blogs do not deserve this refutal but for the benefit of teeming supporters of our National President who has been doing a great job and for the records.
For those of you who have followed the AGN story in Abia it would be recalled that since 2024 a set of disgruntled elements led by one David Amalaha hijacked the Abia AGN by conducting an illegal and kangaroo election without the consent of the National body as enshrined in the AGN constitution. As a result, the Guild in Abia has been led by different Interim governments pending when the matter in court would have been over.
Recently Mr Emmanuel Ehumadu aka Labista was appointed as the new Interim Chairman of the Abia State Chapter. January 9th 2025 was his first meeting and luckily the National President was around in the State due to the death of his mother In Law so he attended the meeting to encourage participation of all members.
After his speech where he reeled out the National programs for 2025 somebody among the crowd raised up his hands to speak and he was given audience only for him to begin to rain abuses to the national body, issuing threats. At that point the national president sent a distress call to the AIG zone 9 who intervened and the boys were invited to the police for questioning and the meeting continued. At the end of the meeting the National President went to the zone 9 Umuahia and made an official entry of threat to life.
The National President was never arrested and detained as claimed in the report.
It is a figment of imagination of the writer calculated to embarrass and disrespect the Nigeria Police Force
Cornel Udofia
Presidential Spokesman