By Opeyemi Adelakun
A Federal High Court in Abuja has remanded a retired officer of the Department of State Services (DSS), Nwaogu Ihechimere Ezeakolam, at the Kuje Correctional Centre after he pleaded not guilty to a four-count charge bordering on alleged terrorism-related offences and cybercrime.
The DSS arraigned Ezeakolam before Justice Muhammed Umar on Thursday, accusing him of offences allegedly committed in 2025 and 2026 in Abuja and Abia State.
According to the prosecution, the charges contravene Sections 13, 25 and 26 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as well as Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015 (as amended).
Following the defendant’s plea of not guilty, counsel to the DSS asked the court to fix a date for trial and remand him pending the determination of the case.
Justice Umar subsequently adjourned proceedings until October 29 for the commencement of trial and ordered that the defendant be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
In the first count, the prosecution alleged that Ezeakolam directly and indirectly rendered support to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) by providing moral assistance and disseminating information linked to the proscribed group through the internet and social media platforms.
The second count accused him of joining IPOB, while the third alleged that he aided and abetted the group by posting messages on social media calculated to persuade members of the public to support the organisation.
In the fourth count, prosecutors alleged that he used social media platforms to publish messages aimed at advancing the cause of IPOB, an offence said to be punishable under the Cybercrimes Act.
IPOB, led by Nnamdi Kanu, was proscribed by the Federal Government in 2017 after a Federal High Court declared it an unlawful organisation. The government subsequently designated the group a terrorist organisation under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act.
The organisation has consistently rejected the designation, maintaining that it is a non-violent movement advocating self-determination for Nigeria’s South-East region.
The case is expected to resume on October 29.
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