A police source has said about N17.5m was reportedly traced to bank accounts belonging to Gloria Okolie after she was arrested by the Intelligence Response Team for alleged link to the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra.
The source claimed that detectives, who were investigating Gloria’s alleged connection to the group, found that her accounts were being used to receive and send money to members of the militant Eastern Security Network, accused of carrying out violent attacks in the South-East.
Recall that the police had arrested and detained the 22-year-old Gloria since June for spying for IPOB/ESN.
Her family had alleged that she was used as a maid and sex slave by the officers while in custody.
A rights activist and Director General, Behind Bars Initiative, Harrison Gwamnishu, had posted Gloria’s detention on Facebook.
Newsmen had reported how Gloria was reportedly detained at the IRT office in Owerri, Imo State, before she was transferred to Abuja.
Gloria’s uncle, Christian Okolie, said the policemen had extorted N280,000 in bribes so far and demanded additional N100,000 to free the young lady.
But the source said, “The suspect used her bank accounts to receive and send money to the ESN. Investigations showed that about N17.5m has passed through her accounts to the IPOB/ESN members. Her complicity in IPOB’s activities has been established by police investigators.”
Meanwhile, the force explained in a statement on Sunday that Gloria was arrested 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 statement, signed by the Deputy Force Spokesman, Aremu Adeniran, was titled, ‘Violent attacks in the South-East: Police arrest militants’ spy girl’.
It said the suspect would be arraigned after investigation.
The police said their investigation revealed that Gloria was a member of IPOB/ESN in Imo State, who worked closely with one Benjamin Emojiri, aka Onye Army, an ESN commander earlier declared wanted by the police for his alleged roles in executing the attack on the Imo State Police Command headquarters and the state headquarters of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
The force noted that the suspect, a native of Umutanza in Imo State, was arrested following ongoing investigations and implementation of special operation, Operation Restore Peace, aimed at breaking the information, drugs and arms supply chain to IPOB and the ESN.
It explained that Gloria’s arrest and her confession assisted the detectives in the arrest of Onye Army.
The statement further read, “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 delivers the same to their commanders in their camps.”
