Wrongful Detention: DSS Frees Four Men, Approves ₦20 Million Compensation

The Department of State Services (DSS) has released four individuals who were arrested and detained over alleged links to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), following a review that reportedly found no evidence connecting them to the group’s activities.

The Service also approved ₦20 million in compensation for the four men over their wrongful detention, according to information provided about the development.

The Director-General of the DSS, Oluwatosin Ajayi, reportedly ordered their immediate release after a thorough assessment established that they had no involvement in IPOB-related activities.

The freed individuals were identified as Emele Uduma Ibe, Berefgagha Appah, Ondokeyilemi Aggry and Oyeinmokebebeton Aggry. They were said to have spent several years in detention before the review process cleared them.

The latest development forms part of a series of actions reportedly taken by Ajayi since assuming leadership of the agency to address cases of wrongful detention and compensate affected individuals.

In a similar case, the DSS recently released a farmer from Kaduna State who had reportedly spent two years in detention over alleged links to Boko Haram. The agency also paid him ₦3 million in compensation.

The DSS chief had also increased the compensation awarded to a Jos-based businessman who was mistakenly shot by security operatives in 2016 from ₦10 million to ₦20 million.

In November 2025, Ajayi ordered the release of Kenneth Okechukwu Nwafor, who was arrested in July 2022 over alleged IPOB connections, and approved ₦5 million in compensation for him.

Before Nwafor’s release, three other men from Abia State — Augustine Udemba, Nelson Onyedikachi Udemba and Ifesinachi Eze — were also freed and reportedly received ₦5 million each.

Similarly, in October 2025, the DSS Director-General ordered the release of Abuja-based businesswoman Chineze Ozoadibe and approved ₦10 million in compensation for her.

The latest releases highlight the agency’s reported efforts to review prolonged detention cases and provide remedies where individuals are found to have been wrongly held.