DSS frees four cleared of IPOB links, pays ₦20m compensation

The Department of State Services (DSS) has released four men who had been in custody since May 2022 over suspected ties to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and approved ₦20 million in compensation for them.

Each of the four will get ₦5 million, according to security sources quoted by several outlets. They are Emele Uduma Ibe, Berefgagha Appah, Ondokeyilemi Aggry and Oyeinmokebebeton Aggry.

The men were picked up in Sampou and Akeddei communities in Kolokuma/Opokuma and Sagbama Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State.

Sources said investigations found that the four had been drawn in by people who told them they would earn ₦100,000 a month under the Federal Government's Amnesty Programme. The men did not know, the sources said, that they were being recruited by IPOB members who are now facing trial.

The release was approved by the DSS Director-General, Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi. A source said their conduct in detention and the outcome of the investigation informed the decision.

Lawyer welcomes release

Their lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, commended the DSS for safeguarding national security and praised Ajayi's commitment to human rights. He said the professionalism he saw was the best in more than 20 years of dealing with the Service, and repeated his view that President Bola Tinubu made the right choice in appointing Ajayi.

"These people were recklessly and haphazardly arrested during the Buhari regime," Adeyanju said, according to Premium Times. "But since this DG came, we have been working with him to release all innocent Nigerians in detention."

Speaking for the group, Emele Uduma Ibe described the day as the happiest of his life and said the experience had taught him a lesson he would share with others.

A source said the four will also receive psychological and medical support, and help with returning to normal life.

Wider review of cases

Since taking office in 2024, Ajayi ordered a review of more than 300 inherited terrorism-related cases. A panel set up for the exercise has cut the number of detainees in DSS custody to about 100 and paid out over ₦1 billion in compensation, sources said.

Past beneficiaries include a Jos businessman mistakenly shot by DSS personnel, who got ₦20 million and had his medical bills covered; Chineze Ozoadibe, who received ₦10 million after a wrongful arrest; Sunday Ifedi, paid ₦10 million after being cleared of IPOB ties; and Kenneth Okechukwu Nwafor, who got ₦5 million.

Ajayi has said the Service, like any human institution, can make mistakes. "Where we admit our mistakes, we offer compensation, and seek ways to improve operations in tandem with the rule of law," he said in a recent interview.

What happens next: The four are expected to receive their payments and the promised support as they return home.