The Director General of the State Security Service (DSS), Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, has ordered the release of Kenneth Okechukwu Nwafor, who was arrested in July 2022 over alleged links to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Following a fresh review of his case, the DSS has also approved a compensation package of N5 million and free medical care for Nwafor.
A statement by the Service explained that a detailed investigation has now cleared Nwafor of any wrongdoing. His release aligns with the DG’s directive for a comprehensive review of inherited cases to ensure due process, fairness, and timely justice. Three other Abia residents earlier suspected of IPOB affiliation — Udemba, Onyedikachi, and Eze — were also freed under similar circumstances.
The development forms part of Ajayi’s broader reforms aimed at strengthening accountability and upholding the DSS’s standard operating procedures. The statement added that the DG has consistently taken corrective measures wherever the Service is found to have erred, insisting that mistakes must be promptly acknowledged and remedied.
In recent months, Ajayi has authorised several compensations, including N20 million to a Jos businessman shot in error during a 2016 operation and N10 million to an Abuja businesswoman wrongly arrested over alleged oil bunkering. Additional payments were approved for five others, reinforcing what some nigerians describe as a new culture of responsibility within the DSS.
