Tekena Amieyeofori
A retired Department of State Services, DSS, official has been ordered to be kept in Kuje Correctional Centre after appearing before a Federal High Court in Abuja on terrorism-related charges.
Justice Muhammed Umar gave the remand order on Thursday following the arraignment of Nwaogu Ihechimere Ezeakolam. The DSS accused him of having ties with the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, a group proscribed by the Federal Government.
Prosecutors allege that between 2025 and 2026, in Abuja and Abia State, Ezeakolam engaged in activities the agency says violate the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and the Cybercrimes Act, 2015.
The specific allegations include:
providing moral support and sharing information about IPOB online and through social media platforms, membership of IPOB, aiding and abetting IPOB by publishing posts online intended to persuade members of the public to back the group, and using social media to circulate messages meant to promote IPOB.
Count One reads:
“That you, Nwaogu Ihechimere Ezeakolam, adult, male, sometime 2025 and 2026, at Abuja and Abia State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did directly and indirectly render support by providing moral assistance and disseminating terrorist information of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB, a proscribed organization, through the internet and your social media platforms, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 13 of Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Count Two:
“That you, Nwaogu Ihechimere Ezeakolam, adult, male, sometime 2025 and 2026, in Abia State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did join Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a proscribed organization, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 25 of Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022’.
Count Three:
“That you, Nwaogu Ihechimere Ezeakolam, adult, male, sometime 2025 and 2026, at Abuja and Abia State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did knowingly directly and indirectly aid and abet the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by posting on social media platforms messages calculated to induce unsuspecting members of the public to support Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a proscribed organization, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 26 of Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Count Four:
“That you, Nwaogu Ihechimere Ezeakolam, adult, male, sometime 2025 and 2026, at Abuja and Abia State, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, on social media platforms did post and cause to be accessed, messages aimed at advancing the cause o Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a proscribed organization and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of Cybercrimes (Prevention, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015, as amended.”
Court proceedings
When the charges were read, Ezeakolam entered a plea of “not guilty” to all counts.
The prosecution counsel then requested a trial date and asked that the defendant be held in custody until the case begins.
Justice Umar granted the request and fixed October 29 for the commencement of trial. In the meantime, he directed that the retired officer be remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
IPOB was designated a terrorist organisation by the Federal Government in 2017. Since then, security agencies have prosecuted several individuals accused of supporting or promoting the group, with many cases centering on social media activity.