The Nigerian police have announced the arrest of 21-year-old Gloria Okolie who has been accused of spying for the Eastern Security Network, a militant arm of the outlawed separatist group, IPOB.
According to a statement by the deputy public relations officer of the police, Aremu Adeniran, Ms Okolie was arrested in Imo State.
Her arrest comes amidst reduced attacks by gunmen believed to be ESN members in the South-east and South-south regions of Nigeria.
The attacks on security formations and government establishments went from as high as more than one in a day to less than one in two weeks.
In the statement on Sunday, the police accused the suspect of being complicit in the series of deliberate and well-coordinated attacks on security formations and other critical national infrastructures in the two regions.
The police also said she aided the police in the arrest of one of the group’s top leader whom the police identified as Onye Army.
Read the full statement by the police below.
PRESS RELEASE
VIOLENT ATTACKS IN THE SOUTH-EAST: POLICE ARREST MILITANTS’ SPY GIRL
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.
Further investigations by the Police team revealed that Gloria Okolie takes advantage of her gender and seemingly innocuous looks as camouflage to carry out espionage against military and police targets on behalf of IPOB/ESN. The suspect also serves as an intermediate person, who receives cash, drugs and weapons on behalf of IPOB/ESN and deliver same to their commanders in their camps. Through her clandestine criminal activities, she actively aided and abetted the multiple acts of murder, arson and malicious damage to both private and public property by the ESN. A lot of the deadly and unfortunate attacks on security personnel and assets, with numerous fatalities, have the imprimaturs of Gloria Okolie, the spy girl of ESN militants. Investigation is being concluded to enable the Police arraign her in court for prosecution.
CSP AREMU ADENIRAN
DEPUTY FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
FORCE HEADQUARTERS
ABUJA
22nd August, 2021