The Director General of State Security Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, has ordered the release of one Kenneth Okechukwu Nwafor, who was arrested in July 2022 for his alleged involvement in the activities of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
The DG also awarded Nwafor, who is from Isuikwuato LGA in Abia State, N5 million in compensation for the unjust arrest, as well as free medical care.
According to credible security sources, Nwafor was exonerated following a thorough examination performed by service members.
The source stated that the release and compensation are consistent with the Director General’s direction that all inherited cases be evaluated to guarantee due process and speedy justice.
“The DG directed his investigation officers to conduct a detailed review of all pending cases, and they have been dutifully doing that. Nwafor’s case is one of such cases’,” the source offered.
“The gesture, one of several by the DG, is a testament to his resolve to comply with the rule of law and adherence to the service standard operating procedure,” he stated, adding that three Abia men, Udemba, Onyedikachi, and Eze, suspected of belonging to IPOB, were equally released.
“Mr. Tosin Ajayi acknowledges that as humans, we sometimes make mistakes. He also believes that when such mistakes are made, the right thing is to make amends. That is why he has established a culture of accountability and humanly makes efforts to remedy the mistakes of the Agency,” added the source.
“Remember, he paid N20 million as compensation to one Jos-based businessman who was erroneously shot in the leg in the course of a security operation in 2016. Even when the court awarded N10 million in damages against the DSS, the agency refused to pay until Ajayi became DG. He doubled the money.
“Nwafor isn’t the first Igbo to be released and compensated under similar circumstances. Some months ago, the DG ordered the release of three young men wrongfully detained for belonging to IPOB.
“Last month, he paid N10 million as compensation to the Abuja-based Igbo businesswoman arrested by a sister security agency for alleged illegal oil bunkering.
“The DG added N10 million for five others to share, explained the source, adding, “This has become the trend since the new DSS leadership.”
