The Department of State Services (DSS) has acknowledged that Mrs. Calista Ifedi, a woman detained without trial since 2021 for allegedly selling food to members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), died while in custody at the notorious Wawa Barracks detention facility in Kano State NEGROIDHAVEN has garnered.
The admission, which comes after more than four years of silence and sustained pressure from rights groups, confirms one of Nigeria’s most troubling cases of enforced disappearance and custodial death under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mrs. Ifedi, a restaurant operator in Enugu, was arrested alongside her husband, Mr. Sunday Ifedi, at their residence on November 23, 2021. Her only alleged offence was that IPOB members had patronised her business. She was held without charge, denied access to legal representation, and never brought before a court.
According to her husband, who was detained with her but released only in December 2025, the couple was transferred from the DSS headquarters in Abuja to Wawa Barracks in March 2022, where they were separated. That was the last time he saw her alive. He was never informed of her condition or death throughout his detention.
In a statement made public by activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, the DSS’s confirmation was described as a “late, forced admission” following relentless advocacy by Amnesty International Nigeria, human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju, and Sowore himself.
“For years, the DSS denied her whereabouts and condition. Today, they admit she died in their custody, ill and abandoned, in a facility that should not even exist as a detention centre,” Sowore stated. “This is a grave abuse of power and a stark example of the culture of impunity that plagues our security agencies.”
Wawa Barracks, operated by the Nigerian Army but routinely used by the DSS and other security agencies to hold detainees outside the judicial system, has long been criticized by local and international human rights organizations as a site of torture, illegal detention, and extrajudicial actions.
The circumstances of Mrs. Ifedi’s death remain unclear, though Sowore’s account indicates she fell ill in detention and was denied adequate medical care until she succumbed. There has been no official statement from the DSS detailing the cause or date of her death, nor has her body been released to the family.
Human rights organizations have called for an independent autopsy, the immediate shutdown of Wawa Barracks, and the arrest and prosecution of all DSS officials involved in her unlawful detention and alleged neglect.
“This is not just a tragedy; it is a crime,” said a spokesperson for Amnesty International Nigeria. “The Nigerian state must end this pattern of secret detentions and ensure that those responsible for Mrs. Ifedi’s death are held accountable.”
The case has renewed calls for comprehensive reform of Nigeria’s security and detention systems, particularly regarding compliance with constitutional provisions on the right to life, dignity, and fair hearing.
As of press time, the DSS has not responded to further requests for comment, and the Federal Government has yet to issue an official reaction to the disclosure.
