A Department of State Services investigator has detailed how the secret police tracked down and arrested four individuals allegedly belonging to the Indigenous People of Biafra in connection with the abduction and murder of DSS operative Ekpenyong Owoh.
Testifying as the first prosecution witness, codenamed AAA, before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, the operative explained that the defendants took Owoh to an Eastern Security Network camp, where he was fatally shot and buried in a shallow grave.
The four defendants standing trial are Michael Okafor (also known as Onyechimeleze), Chinedu Chukwudozie (alias Kante), Chibunna Olisa, and Chigozie Olisa (also known as Ability).
These defendants were formally arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on September 28, facing a six-count charge related to terrorism and kidnapping.
The prosecution asserted that the defendants conspired to commit terrorist acts, intercepted and abducted Owoh while he journeyed from Port Harcourt in Rivers State to Awka in Anambra State, and subsequently murdered him.
Additional charges include membership in the proscribed IPOB and its armed wing, the ESN, alongside the unlawful possession of firearms such as an AK-47 rifle and a pump-action gun.
Despite these serious charges, all four defendants entered pleas of not guilty.
Guided in testimony by prosecution counsel Munirat Oladunjoye, the witness stated that he has served with the DSS for approximately 17 years.
He recounted that the investigation commenced in February 2022 after Owoh’s wife reported to the DSS Anambra Command that her husband had vanished during his trip from Port Harcourt to Awka.
Technical tracking of the missing operative’s movements indicated he was last operational in Osomogu, located within the Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Owoh’s vehicle, a Toyota Pontiac, was similarly tracked to the same community.
Because the area was known as a stronghold for IPOB and the ESN, the DSS initiated a collaborative operation with the military.
This joint effort resulted in the June 20, 2026, arrest of Chinyere Okabue, whose subsequent interrogation provided intelligence that eventually cracked open the case and led to the four main suspects.
According to the witness, Okafor—identified as the primary suspect and an ESN sub-commander—was captured on September 14, 2026, while his three co-defendants were apprehended on September 20.
Detailing the timeline of the murder, the witness noted that Owoh had contacted his spouse on February 23, 2022, mentioning he would soon return home to visit their newborn child.
Instead, Okafor and his co-accused intercepted, seized, and dragged the operative to their encampment.
Chibunna Olisa allegedly drove Owoh’s car into the camp, where the captive was held until an ESN sub-commander named Double Lion ordered Okafor to execute him.“He was shot several times and buried in a shallow grave,” the investigator testified Witness AAA further claimed that all four defendants bore the ESN identification mark “1414” on their bodies, which they believed offered them spiritual protection. Responding to this testimony, Justice Abdulmalik ordered the defendants to step forward and strip off their outer clothing sequentially so that the witness and defense attorneys could inspect the marks.
Both the prosecution witness and defense lawyers K.C. Ekwe and G.U. Oputa verified the visibility of the markings.
Following the killing, Okafor allegedly seized Owoh’s Toyota Pontiac for personal transportation and presented the operative’s mobile phone to his girlfriend, Chinyere, as a present.
Chinyere was later granted administrative bail after investigators verified she had no prior knowledge of the abduction and murder.
The investigator also disclosed that Okafor fled the country to Cote d’Ivoire and later India, engaging in criminal ventures abroad before being deported back to Nigeria around 2024.
Upon his return, Okafor went underground, working secretly as a bricklayer in Azia, Ihiala Local Government Area, until intelligence agents finally closed in and arrested him.
PW1 emphasized that all four suspects voluntarily provided statements to investigators while accompanied by a Legal Aid Council lawyer.
They were duly informed of their constitutional right to silence and cautioned that any statements made could be used against them in a court of law.
According to the witness, these statements were recorded in a comfortable, air-conditioned setting and were formally accepted into evidence after defense counsel raised no objections.
Justice Abdulmalik admitted the statements into the court record, designating them as the Exhibit TWT-5 Series.
The judge subsequently adjourned the matter to November 16 to allow for the cross-examination of the witness and the continuation of the trial-within-trial.
In her closing remarks, the judge cautioned the defense attorneys that they risked forfeiting their right to cross-examine the witness if they failed to appear on the newly scheduled date.
