The Nigeria Police has announced that it has taken custody of 22-year-old Gloria Okolie who they accused of allegedly spying for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
This is in response to the public backlash the Force received over the arrest and illegal detention of Gloria Okolie, who they unlawfully kept in their custody for three months without charge.
Consequently, the Nigerian police on Sunday accused the victim of being a spy-girl for the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
In a statement released on Sunday via its social media handle, the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Aremu Adeniran said the victim was nabbed by operatives of the Force working with the Military and other security forces.
Adeniran claimed that the victim was arrested for the part she played in the attacks on security formations, critical infrastructure including INEC offices, and killing of security operatives in the South-East.
The statement read, “Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, working with the Military and other security forces, have arrested one 22-year-old female suspect, Gloria Okolie, for her complicity in the series of deliberate and well-coordinated attacks on security formations, other critical national infrastructure including INEC offices and killing of security operatives in the South-Eastern part of the country.
“The suspect, a native of Umutanza in Imo State, was arrested following ongoing investigations and implementation of a special operation, Operation Restore Peace, to amongst other things, break the information, drugs and arms supply chain to the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network in the South-East region.
“Police Investigations revealed that Gloria Okolie is a member of IPOB/ESN in Imo State who worked closely with one Benjamin Uzoma Emojiri a.k.a “Onye Army”, one of the ESN commanders earlier declared wanted by the Police for his lead roles in planning, coordinating and executing the attack on the Imo State Police Command Headquarters and Imo State Headquarters of the Nigerian Correctional Service.”
The Police spokesman also claimed that the victim’s confession assisted the Force in the arrest of “Onye Army”, which he said is a major breakthrough in the quest to restoring law and order in the South-East region.
“Further investigations by the Police team revealed that Gloria Okolie takes advantage of her gender and seemingly innocuous looks as camouflage to carry out espionage against military and police targets on behalf of IPOB/ESN.
“The suspect also serves as an intermediate person, who receives cash, drugs, and weapons on behalf of IPOB/ESN and delivers the same to their commanders in their camps. Through her clandestine criminal activities, she actively aided and abetted the multiple acts of murder, arson, and malicious damage to both private and public property by the ESN.
“A lot of the deadly and unfortunate attacks on security personnel and assets, with numerous fatalities, have the imprimaturs of Gloria Okolie, the spy girl of ESN militants.”
The police explained that the Okolie will be charged to court at the end of an investigation.
Meanwhile, the statement is coming after the Force came under fire by members of the public, who lambasted them for unjustly detaining Okolie, kept under enslavement for months in Owerri without charge despite collecting N280 000 from her mother to secure her release.
Gloria Okolie is one of the many victims of illegal detention by the Nigeria Police Force.
More so, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) has called for her immediate release while expressing shock over the detainment of the victim without trial for over 60 days as it tagged the detention “illegal, wickedly and appalling.”
