SSS releases four men held over alleged IPOB links

The State Security Service (SSS) has released four men arrested in Bayelsa State in May 2022 over alleged links to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and approved an initial ₦20 million in compensation, security sources said. Each man is expected to receive ₦5 million. The reports do not confirm that the approved payments have been made. The men are Emele Uduma Ibe, Berefgagha Appah, Ondokeyilemi Aggry and Oyeinmokebebeton Aggry. Their lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, received them after their release and said they should either have been released or charged in court. He praised SSS Director-General Oluwatosin Ajayi’s approach to human rights and prolonged detention. Security sources said the men were arrested in Sampou and Akeddei communities in Bayelsa’s Kolokuma-Opokuma and Sagbama local government areas. According to one source, an investigation found they had been misled into believing they would receive ₦100,000 a month through the Federal Government’s Amnesty Programme. The source said members of IPOB, who are now facing trial, had lured them. The account of their recruitment and the agency’s findings was attributed to security sources. The release is part of a review of...