For Selling Food To IPOB Members, Mrs Ifedi Was Arrested And Left To Die In Detention – RULAC Calls Out DSS, Demands Probe

By Charles Igbo

In a narration that grieves the heart,  the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC,  has called out the Department of State Services, DSS, over the death of Mrs Calista Ifedi.

Mrs Ifedi, said RULAAC, in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, was picked up, along with her husband, Sunday Ifedi, by Operatives of the DSS, from her restaurant in Enugu. Their offence, RULAAC said, was that members of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, were patronising Mrs Ifedi’s restaurant.

The couple was picked up on November 23, in 2021,  and never seen again.

However, reports kept emanating from the DSS custody that Mrs Ifedi was in a bad state of health, her complaints were not taken seriously. She was given medication for ulcer. And when she sadly passed on in detention the DSS, allegedly, did not let on. And her husband who was in detention with her, was not told either.  He only knew this other day when the DSS finally admitted that Mrs Ifedi  passed on while in its custody.

In its statement, RULAAC is asking for an independent transparent probe into the circumstances surrounding her death in custody. It is asking for her body. And it is asking for the arrest and prosecution of all those involved in the arrest and death of Mrs Ifedi. It said on their arrest, she and her husband were transferred from the DSS headquarters to its Wawa Barracks facility  which was where she died.

RULAAC said her situation was  disclosed after sustained advocacy by Amnesty International Nigeria, and others.

According to RULAAC, she was arrested  for doing nothing, except, selling food  to IPOB members.

RULAAC: “For this, she was violently taken away, detained indefinitely without charge, denied access to court, and disappeared into DSS custody.

“According to her husband—who was only released in December 2025—the last time he saw his wife was in March 2022, when both were transferred from DSS headquarters to Wawa Barracks, separated, and never allowed to see each other again. He was never informed of her death.

“While in detention at Wawa Barracks, Mrs. Ifedi reportedly fell seriously ill and repeatedly complained of severe chest pains. Rather than receive proper medical attention, her complaints were dismissed, mocked, and trivialised, with occasional administration of ulcer medication. She was left to deteriorate until she died. Even when civil society organisations pressed for her release, the DSS denied that she was in its custody, deepening the cruelty and deception.

“RULAAC considers these acts to amount to unlawful detention, enforced disappearance, torture through medical neglect, and extrajudicial killing, all prohibited under Nigerian and international law.

“Of particular concern is the revelation that the DSS has allegedly issued non-disclosure threats to Mr. Sunday Ifedi, warning him not to speak publicly about his detention or the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death. This attempt to impose silence after grave human rights violations constitutes a further abuse of power and obstruction of justice.

“This tragedy occurred during a period of unchecked brutality at the DSS and reflects a broader pattern of impunity, secrecy, and contempt for the rule of law. Mrs. Calista Ifedi was an innocent civilian—an ordinary food vendor—whose life was unlawfully taken by an agency mandated to protect national security, not destroy lives.

“RULAAC DEMANDS:

– Immediate public disclosure of the full circumstances surrounding Mrs. Calista Ifedi’s detention, illness, and death.

“– Production of her remains and the conduct of an independent autopsy to determine the cause of death.

“– Immediate closure of Wawa Barracks as a detention facility.

“– Independent, impartial investigation into the DSS, including the chain of command responsible for her unlawful detention, medical neglect, and death.

“– Arrest and prosecution of all officials—past and present—found complicit in these violations.

“– Protection of the Ifedi family from intimidation, threats, or reprisals, and the immediate cessation of all gag orders or non-disclosure threats.

“Mrs. Calista Ifedi deserved life, dignity, and justice. Her death must not be reduced to a statistic or buried under official silence and intimidation. Accountability for her death is not optional—it is a legal and moral obligation.

“RULAAC stands in solidarity with the Ifedi family and all victims of secret detention and state brutality in Nigeria. Justice delayed must not become justice denied.”