The battle for the throne in the Rivers State Football Association took a different twist on Monday as a contestant, China Acheru was detained by the police in Port-Harcourt.

Busybuddiesng.com gathered that the state FA chairman, Barrister Christopher Green wrote a petition to the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, accusing sports journalist Acheru, who is contesting for the position of vice-chairman of forgery and committing acts capable of causing a breakdown of law and order in the state.

Green, in his petition to the police, said Acheru forged the signatures of Victor Ezeji and Cyril Dum-Wite on the petition to the Nigeria Football Federation challenging the dissolution of the Electoral Committee in the State FA elections.

The ace sports journalist was subsequently invited over by the CP Monitoring Unit of the police located at Old GRA in Port-Harcourt where he wrote a statement and was then detained until he got a lawyer and a colleague, Tonye Orabere to sign his bail.

Acheru seemed upbeat when he spoke with busybuddiesng.com on Tuesday evening calling the incident a non-issue.

“As far as I am concerned, it is nothing. We have seen this a lot in Nigerian football and politics; when a few people who are desperate for power use the police to try to intimidate others.

“Do I look like one that Chris Green can intimidate? That the police kept me for four hours means that I will go back to my village and start crying?” Acheru asked rhetorically.

“I have said this before and will say it again that the Rivers State football family has rejected Chris Green and what he is doing now is just a desperate attempt to hold on to something he has lost.

“He accused me of forging two signatures. The two people whose signatures I was supposed to have forged were at the same police station last week where they signed statements to the contrary. So, why the action by the police if they were not playing out a script?

“It is all about the elections so I know I may be arrested a few more times before Chris Green becomes past tense as far as the Rivers State Football Association is concerned. Like the late Gani Fawehenmi, I now leave my house every day with my detention kit that includes a small towel, toothbrush, toothpaste, and a deodorant, but it will be over soon.”

Acheru expected to report at the Commissioner of Police, CP Monitoring Unit again on Thursday (tomorrow) by 9 am as the police continue their investigations.

Incidentally, Acheru is not running against Green, but against Kile Ominiokuma for the position of vice-chairman, but a source told busybuddiesng.com that the incumbent chairman believes Felix Obuah was brought into the race by Acheru to dislodge Green from the position.

In 2015, China Acheru contested against Chris Green for the position of chairman and lost 14-2 in the polls.