DSS Releases Suspected IPOB Member Detained Since 2022, Awards N5m Compensation, Medicare

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The Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, has ordered the immediate release of Kenneth Okechukwu Nwafor, who was arrested in July 2022 over alleged involvement with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

This development comes barely one month after Ajayi directed the release and compensation of Abuja-based businesswoman Mrs. Chineze Ozoadibe and others previously detained under similar circumstances.

Nwafor, who hails from Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State, was awarded ₦5 million in compensation for wrongful arrest, in addition to full medical care sponsored by the DSS.

According to credible security sources, a comprehensive review and fresh investigation by DSS operatives completely exonerated Nwafor of the allegations.

The source explained that the action aligns with the DG’s directive to review all inherited cases to ensure adherence to due process, rule of law, and timely dispensation of justice.

“The DG instructed investigators to reassess all pending matters, and they have been diligently doing so. Nwafor’s case is one of many,” the source stated.

He added that the gesture reflects Ajayi’s commitment to institutional accountability and compliance with the Service’s standard operating procedures. In the same vein, three Abia men Udemba, Onyedikachi, and Eze also detained on suspicion of belonging to IPOB were released following similar findings.

“Mr. Tosin Ajayi acknowledges that security agencies, being human institutions, sometimes make errors.

He believes that when such errors occur, the right thing is to acknowledge and correct them. This is why he has institutionalised a culture of accountability and humane corrective action within the Service,” the source added.

He recalled that Ajayi had previously ordered the payment of ₦20 million in compensation to a Jos-based businessman who was inadvertently shot in the leg during a 2016 security operation. Although a court had earlier awarded ₦10 million in damages, the DSS under previous leadership had failed to comply until Ajayi assumed office—whereupon he doubled the amount as a gesture of responsibility.

The source further noted that Nwafor is not the first Igbo detainee to benefit from such corrective measures.

Months earlier, the DG ordered the release of three young men wrongfully detained on suspicion of IPOB affiliation.

“Just last month, he also approved ₦10 million for the Abuja-based businesswoman arrested by a sister agency over alleged illegal oil bunkering, and another ₦10 million shared among five others in similar circumstances. “This pattern has become a hallmark of the new DSS leadership.” the spice stated

Politically, these moves signal a deliberate effort by the DSS under Ajayi to de-escalate tensions in the South-East, rebuild public trust, and strengthen legal compliance within the Service—an approach observers say contrasts with previous eras often criticised for prolonged and arbitrary detentions.

Source: Tribune newspapers