Barrister Aloy Ejimakor, special counsel to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has urged Nigeria’s Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, to order the immediate release of Onyeaka Ozioma Elizabeth. The Igbo woman has been held by the Department of State Services (DSS) for more than five years following her arrest in Anambra State. Ejimakor also called for an end to the use of Wawa Barracks in Niger State as a detention facility for individuals arrested in the Southeast.
The appeal, posted on Ejimakor’s X account, cites mounting public concern over Elizabeth’s prolonged detention without access to her family or legal representation. “Standing on the high public interest generated by the matter of Onyeaka Ozioma Elizabeth, I hereby call on AGF Lateef Fagbemi to direct that Ozioma be freed from detention, forthwith,” Ejimakor stated. “He should also halt the use of Wawa Barracks as a detention centre for Igbos arrested in Igboland.”
The case gained wider attention after another of Kanu’s counsels, Barrister Nnaemeka Ejiofor, detailed Elizabeth’s ordeal. According to Ejiofor, Elizabeth was arrested at 33 Onitsha in Anambra State over five years and three months ago. She was subsequently transferred to the Wawa Military Detention Centre in Kainji, Niger State, where she remained without contact with her family or a lawyer.
Ejiofor said he recently encountered Elizabeth on the premises of the Federal High Court in Abuja. She informed him of her arrest and transfer, describing conditions he characterized as “illegal and dehumanising.” Her sister, contacted by Ejiofor, was unaware Elizabeth was alive until shown a video of her. “Her sister, whose phone number Ozioma Elizabeth gave to me when contacted, could not believe that Ozioma Elizabeth was still alive until she saw this video,” Ejiofor said.
The lawyer questioned the legal basis for holding a suspect for such an extended period without trial or access to counsel. “What manner of trial or justice can come from such illegal and dehumanizing detention?” he asked. He also raised concerns about Elizabeth’s physical and psychological state, noting “fear written all over her face.”
Ejiofor highlighted the geographic displacement involved, noting Elizabeth was moved from Anambra to Kainji and then to Abuja — locations unfamiliar to her and far from her community. He further questioned whether her prosecution was linked to her identity as a Biafran, contrasting the situation with the absence of similar actions against individuals identifying as Oduduwa or Arewa. “Trial for being Biafran?” Ejiofor asked. “Why nobody has ever faced trial for being Oduduwa, and certainly none will ever face trial for being Arewa.”
The allegations have prompted scrutiny over the circumstances of Elizabeth’s arrest, the legal justification for her continued detention, and whether her family was formally notified of her whereabouts. Ejimakor’s intervention adds pressure on the Office of the Attorney-General to address the claims and the reported use of Wawa Barracks for detainees from the Southeast. The government has not yet responded publicly to the demands.
