OPERATIVES of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) have detained Gloria Okolie, a 21-year-old lady, for being a girlfriend to one of the members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Imo State.
Director-General of Behind Bars Human Rights Foundation Harrison Gwamnishu, who made this known in a statement on Facebook, said Okolie was arrested on June 17 by IRT officers to use her as bait to arrest her boyfriend, who is a suspected IPOB member.
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According to him, Okorie’s family had been searching for her only to discover that she was in the custody of IRT in Imo, allegedly cooking and washing for the officers.
Gwamnishu accused the police of extorting the family when they went to ask for her bail. He said Okolie was later transferred to Abuja.
“21-year-old Miss Glory Okolie, who enrolled for 2021 JAMB exam, has been in police detention since 17th June 2021 till date. She left the house and never returned,” the activist wrote on Facebook.
“Since 17th June, her families had searched for her in hospitals and mortuaries but couldn’t find her.
“Ending of June 2021, a young man who was freed from IRT office Tiger Base Owerri told the Okolie family that he saw Glory in the custody of IRT officers cooking and washing clothes for them.
“The family immediately went to IRT office and requested to see Glory and bail her out, and to date, it’s been one story or the other. The IRT officers allegedly continued to extort the family and denied them access to see Glory.”
The activist said his team met with the newly-appointed IRT Director Olatunji Disu on Thursday, but the police could not link the lady with any offence aside from being the girlfriend of a suspected member of IPOB.
“The office is cooperating with us. The current head of the unit said he just resumed and that the IG commissioned a committee to look into people arrested for IPOB issues after the Glory story went viral. The committee is already profiling the suspects,” Gwamnishu said.
“They are many; they are more than 100, and they are interviewing them. We learnt the committee would give a report tomorrow morning, and we were told to come and pick the girl by 11 am.”
Force Spokesperson Frank Mba, in his characteristic way, did not respond to an enquiry by The ICIR as calls put across to his phone were not picked. He also did not respond to the message sent to him by this reporter via SMS and WhatsApp.
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