The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has defended the arrest of a 22-year-old lady, Glory Okolie, by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Imo State.
Bibian Anekwe News had reported that Okolie was arrested on June 17, and used as bait to lure and arrest her boyfriend who is suspected to be a member of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Following a petition by a human rights activist, Harrison Gwamnishu, the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, ordered a probe into the alleged detention of Okolie and the claim that she was cooking and washing for IRT officers.
But in a statement in Abuja on Sunday signed by the Deputy Spokesman of the Force, Aremu Adeniran, Police claim the arrested lady is an IPOB member and a spy for the outlawed group.
The Police said Okolie was part of the IPOB team that unleashed violent attacks on police stations, INEC offices and the killing of police officers in Imo.
The statement added that Okolie was arrested following ongoing investigations and implementation of the special operation, Operation Restore Peace, to break the information, drugs and arms supply chain to IPOB and ESN in the South-East region.
It reads: “Okolie takes advantage of her gender and seemingly innocuous looks as camouflage to carry out espionage against military and police.
“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 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.
“Her arrest and the revelations from her confession assisted the Police in the arrest of “Onye Army”, a major breakthrough in the quest to restoring law and order in the South-East region.”
