The Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr. Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, has ordered the immediate release of Kenneth Okechukwu Nwafor, an Abia State indigene who had been in detention since July 2022 over alleged links with the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Mr. Nwafor, from Isuikwuato Local Government Area, was also awarded N5 million as compensation for wrongful detention and granted full medical care at the expense of the Service.
Security sources confirmed that a comprehensive review of the case by DSS investigators completely exonerated Nwafor of any wrongdoing.
The release is part of a broader directive by the DG to systematically review all inherited detention cases to ensure strict adherence to due process and the rule of law.
A senior source within the Service told journalists:
“The DG gave a standing order that every pending case he met on ground must be thoroughly re-examined. Kenneth Nwafor’s case is one of many that have now been resolved after fresh investigations showed no evidence of culpability.
”The source added that three other Abia State indigenes—Udemba, Onyedikachi, and Eze—earlier arrested on similar allegations of IPOB membership have equally been released unconditionally.“
This is not an isolated gesture,” the source stressed. “The DG has institutionalised accountability. When mistakes are identified, he insists they must be corrected promptly and victims appropriately compensated.”
Notable previous actions cited include: Payment of N20 million (double the N10 million awarded by a court) to a Jos-based businessman accidentally shot in the leg by operatives in 2016.
N10 million compensation paid last month to Abuja-based Igbo businesswoman, Mrs. Chineze Ozoadibe, who was wrongly accused of illegal oil bunkering by a sister agency, with an additional N10 million shared among five other victims.
Release and compensation of several other Igbo youths earlier detained on unsubstantiated IPOB-related allegations.
“Mr. Ajayi believes that acknowledging and remedying errors strengthens public trust in the Service,” the source concluded.
Since assuming office, the DSS under Oluwatosin Ajayi has made the review of old cases and redress of established wrongs a cornerstone of its operational reforms.
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