Retired DSS Officer Docked for Alleged IPOB Support, Terrorism, Remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of a retired officer of the Department of State Services (DSS), Nwaogu Ihechimere Ezeakolam, at the Kuje Correctional Centre over allegations of supporting the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
Ezeakolam was arraigned on Thursday on a four-count charge bordering on alleged support for the proscribed organisation, joining IPOB, posting messages in support of the group, and involvement in acts capable of inducing unsuspecting members of the public to join IPOB.
According to the DSS, the retired officer allegedly rendered support by providing moral assistance and disseminating terrorist information of IPOB through the internet and his social media platforms. The agency told the court that the alleged offences were contrary to and punishable under Sections 13, 25 and 26 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
When the charges were read to him before Justice Muhammed Umar, Ezeakolam pleaded not guilty to all four counts.
Following his plea, the prosecution applied for a trial date and urged the court to remand the defendant in custody pending trial.
Justice Umar subsequently adjourned the matter until October 29 for the commencement of trial and ordered that Ezeakolam be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
In the first count, the prosecution alleged that sometime in 2025 and 2026, at Abuja and Abia State, Ezeakolam directly and indirectly rendered support by providing moral assistance and disseminating terrorist information of IPOB through the internet and his social media platforms, contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The second count alleged that he joined the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a proscribed organisation, contrary to Section 25 of the Act.
In the third count, the prosecution alleged that he knowingly aided and abetted IPOB by posting messages on social media platforms calculated to induce unsuspecting members of the public to support the proscribed organisation, contrary to Section 26 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The fourth count alleged that he posted and caused to be accessed messages on social media platforms aimed at advancing the cause of IPOB, an offence said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015, as amended.