The Department of State Services (DSS) has released four persons arrested over alleged links to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), approving an initial compensation of ₦20 million for them after investigations cleared them of the allegations.
The Director-General of the Service, Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, approved ₦5 million each for the four individuals as part of the agency’s efforts to address cases of wrongful arrests and ensure restitution for persons absolved of criminal allegations.
The freed individuals were identified as Emele Uduma Ibe, Berefgagha Appah, Ondokeyilemi Aggry and Oyeinmokebebeton Aggry. They were arrested in May 2022 in Sampou and Akeddei communities in Kolokuma/Opokuma and Sagbama Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State.
Security sources disclosed that investigations revealed that the four individuals had been deceived into believing they would receive monthly payments of ₦100,000 under the Federal Government’s Amnesty Programme.
“The Agency established that they had been misled into believing that they would each receive a monthly payment of N100,000 under the Federal Government’s Amnesty Programme, not knowing that they were being lured by a group of IPOB members who are now facing trial,” a security source said.
The source explained that the suspects were victims of an alleged recruitment scheme orchestrated by members of the proscribed organisation, some of whom are currently facing trial.
Receiving the released individuals, their counsel, Deji Adeyanju & Partners, commended the DSS for its efforts towards safeguarding national security, particularly praising Ajayi for what it described as his genuine commitment to human rights and respect for the rule of law.
The law firm also applauded the level of hygiene and professionalism within the Service, describing it as the best it had witnessed in more than 20 years of interacting with DSS personnel. It further reiterated its earlier public position that President Bola Tinubu made the right choice in appointing Ajayi as the agency’s Director-General.
Speaking on behalf of the freed individuals, Emele Uduma Ibe expressed gratitude to the DSS leadership, describing his release as the happiest day of his life.
He said the experience had taught him a valuable lesson which he intended to share with others, while offering prayers for God’s continued blessings upon the DSS Director-General and the management of the Service.
The latest release and compensation exercise add to a series of restitution measures reportedly introduced under Ajayi’s leadership to address cases in which investigations establish that individuals were wrongly implicated or arrested.
Upon assuming office in 2024, Ajayi reportedly ordered a review of more than 300 inherited terrorism-related cases. According to security sources, the exercise has helped reduce the number of detainees in the agency’s facility to about 100 following investigations, with over ₦1 billion paid in compensation to affected individuals.
Other beneficiaries include a Jos-based businessman who was mistakenly shot by DSS operatives in Plateau State and subsequently received ₦20 million, alongside medical care. Chineze Ozoadibe was also reportedly paid ₦10 million following her wrongful arrest, while Sunday Ifedi received ₦10 million after investigations cleared him of alleged links to IPOB. Kenneth Okechukwu Nwafor was similarly compensated with ₦5 million after being absolved of IPOB-related allegations.
The source added that the latest beneficiaries would receive further assistance beyond the initial financial compensation.
“Like other compensated suspects, the DSS will also offer psychological, medical support to these four in addition the initial amount given. I’m confident the DSS will also help further reintegration into the society,” the source disclosed.
Ajayi had, in a recent maiden media interview, acknowledged that the DSS, like any human institution, was capable of making mistakes but insisted that such errors must be addressed whenever they resulted in harm to individuals.
“Where we admit our mistakes, we offer compensation, and seek ways to improve operations in tandem with the rule of law,” the DSS Director-General said.
