Retired DSS Officer Alleges Torture Over Welfare Fund Exposé

The retired officer said the dispute began while serving as Secretary of the association's Welfare Committee, where he consistently demanded that welfare funds be distributed to members in accordance with the association's constitution.

A retired senior officer of the Department of State Services (DSS), Nwaogu Ihechimere Ezeakolam, has alleged that he was tortured, secretly detained for 21 days and prosecuted after exposing alleged financial mismanagement in the welfare fund of retired DSS personnel.

Ezeakolam made the allegations in a series of petitions addressed to the Director-General of the DSS, Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, claiming that his ordeal was triggered by his demands for transparency and accountability in the management of funds belonging to the Association of Retired Department of State Services Officers of Nigeria (ARODSSON), FCT Chapter.

According to the petitions, dated March 20 and May 5, 2026, Ezeakolam accused ARODSSON FCT Chairman, James Kadiri Maha (retd.), the Head of Special Operations, Ali Bindu, and other unnamed officials of orchestrating his arrest, detention and prosecution in retaliation for exposing alleged financial irregularities within the association.

The retired officer said the dispute began while serving as Secretary of the association's Welfare Committee, where he consistently demanded that welfare funds be distributed to members in accordance with the association's constitution.

He alleged that after submitting a memorandum on December 13, 2025, highlighting constitutional breaches and calling for greater financial accountability, he became the target of intimidation and false accusations.

Ezeakolam claimed that on March 17, 2026, he received an invitation from the DSS to appear for questioning but was not informed of the allegations against him despite repeated requests.

He said he believed the invitation related to intelligence reports he regularly submitted to the service after his retirement in 2010, but later discovered it stemmed from a petition allegedly filed against him.

According to him, events escalated on April 7, 2026, when he visited the DSS National Headquarters in Abuja to submit intelligence reports on security developments in the South-East.

He alleged that while inside the headquarters, he was arrested by operatives acting on the orders of senior officials and detained without being informed of any offence.

Ezeakolam further claimed that throughout his detention, investigators refused to disclose the allegations against him and instead pressured him to make a statement.

He alleged that an Assistant Director of Security Investigations threatened to chain his neck, hands and legs together and unleash officers on him after he insisted on seeing the petition before responding.

According to him, investigators only allowed him to review the petition after about 15 days in detention.

He alleged that the petition falsely described him as an IPOB commander, a fake retired DSS officer, a promoter of hatred against the Federal Government and someone planning to bomb the DSS headquarters with improvised explosive devices.

Ezeakolam maintained that he refused to make any statement until he had been given an opportunity to respond to the allegations, insisting that due process required investigators to disclose the petition before questioning him.

He further alleged that after spending 21 days in DSS custody, he was arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court in Wuse, Abuja, on April 27, 2026, on a one-count charge of allegedly inciting the public and spreading hatred against the Federal Government, the DSS Director-General and President Bola Tinubu on an ARODSSON WhatsApp platform.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The retired operative also alleged that some of his personal belongings, including his prescription glasses, mobile phones, chargers, acknowledged intelligence reports and retired officers' access tag, were not returned after his release.

Beyond his detention, Ezeakolam accused the leadership of ARODSSON FCT Chapter of mismanaging more than ₦72 million belonging to the association, diverting a ₦1 million monthly welfare grant approved for retired officers and violating the association's constitution.

He also alleged that the chapter chairman had remained in office for about 14 years despite constitutional term limits and used his influence to intimidate members who demanded accountability.

Ezeakolam has called on the DSS Director-General to order an independent investigation into the allegations, including the circumstances surrounding his arrest, detention and the alleged threats to his life and those of his family.

The DSS and the officials named in the petitions had not publicly responded to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.