The Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC) has petitioned the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to investigate the arrest, detention and treatment of two men held over alleged links to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
It also wants a time-bound review of other cases involving alleged IPOB affiliation.
In the petition, signed by Executive Director Okechukwu Nwanguma, the group said Azoribe Samuel Onu and Chidiebere Christian Ugwu both report being held at the Kuje Custodial Centre, Abuja. Mr Onu says he is serving a 20-year sentence, while Mr Ugwu says he pleaded not guilty and awaits the outcome of his case. RULAAC said it received the men’s accounts on 9 November. The accounts are their own reports and have not been independently verified.
RULAAC pointed to a 3 November Vanguard report that the Department of State Services (DSS) had released four men arrested in May 2022 over alleged IPOB involvement and approved ₦20 million in compensation. The paper also reported earlier releases and compensation in similar cases. The group said this shows the urgency of identifying others who may still be held on allegations the evidence cannot substantiate.
Mr Onu says Nigerian Army personnel arrested him at Oduma, Aninri Local Government Area, Enugu State, on 31 August 2023, accusing him of being an IPOB commander. He says he was held at the Army’s 82 Division in Enugu for about 18 months before being moved to the DSS Enugu State Command on 28 February 2025. He says a Magistrates’ Court in Enugu discharged him on 29 April 2025, an outcome he also describes as an acquittal. He alleges DSS personnel re-arrested him immediately outside the court. He says he was moved to DSS headquarters in Abuja on 29 May 2025 and appeared before the Federal High Court sitting in Asokoro on 16 June 2026, which he says convicted him and imposed a 20-year sentence.
Mr Ugwu says DSS personnel arrested him on 5 December 2024 along Obollo Road in Obukpa, Nsukka, Enugu State. He alleges he was beaten at a DSS post in Oba and again at the DSS Enugu State Command, where he says he lost consciousness. He says he was moved to DSS headquarters in Abuja on 17 December 2024, where he alleges further beatings that affected his vision and caused bleeding from his ear. He says he was denied contact with his family and a lawyer for about 18 months and was made to write statements without counsel. He says he pleaded not guilty before the Federal High Court in Asokoro, Court 15, on 17 June 2026. His account does not specify the charge.
RULAAC said the accounts raise issues under sections 34, 35 and 36 of the Constitution, which cover dignity, personal liberty and fair hearing. It also cited section 4 of the Anti-Torture Act 2017, which bars the use of statements obtained by torture, with an exception for proceedings against a person accused of torture, and section 29 of the Evidence Act 2011 on the admissibility of confessions challenged on grounds such as oppression.
The group asked the Attorney-General to appoint independent investigators from outside the units whose conduct is in question, to interview both men confidentially, and to protect witnesses from reprisals. It also wants the preservation of Army and DSS arrest and custody registers, transfer records, warrants, statements, medical records and CCTV footage, and the retrieval of Kuje admission records and certified court records.
On the individual cases, RULAAC asked for a review of each by procedural status. For Mr Onu, that would cover the prosecution file and judgment and the link between the Enugu and Abuja proceedings. For Mr Ugwu, it would cover the basis for continued remand and whether any allegedly coerced statement forms part of the prosecution case. The group also asked for an independent medical examination for Mr Ugwu, with urgent attention to his eye and ear injuries, and for confidential access to counsel and family contact for both men.
RULAAC further urged a time-bound review of other IPOB-related cases, with priority for people held for long periods without charge or counsel, people reportedly re-arrested after court orders, and cases involving alleged torture or coerced statements. It wants compensation assessed where violations are established, and prosecution or disciplinary action where the evidence warrants it.
The group also asked the DSS Director-General and the Chief of Army Staff, who were copied on the petition, to secure their agencies’ records and make personnel available to investigators. It said it can share the two accounts through a secure channel.
