Unlawful Detention and Custodial Tragedy

Following the Enugu Marathon 2026, activist Omoyele Sowore met with Sunday Ifedi, an Enugu native who was recently released after more than four years in detention. Sunday and his wife, Calista Ifedi, were arrested in 2021 by the Department of State Services (DSS) under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. The couple was accused of being operatives for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

After their arrest, the couple was transferred to the Wawa Barracks detention facility in Niger State. While Sunday eventually regained his freedom, the detention ended in tragedy for his wife. Calista Ifedi reportedly died while in custody at the barracks and was buried in a shallow grave within the facility.

The Human Cost of Injustice

Sunday Ifedi’s release follows years of uncertainty for his family. According to Sowore, the DSS eventually acknowledged that the accusations against Calista had been false. The impact of the detention extended to the couple’s children, including their daughter, Merit, who was a teenager when her parents were taken away.

With both parents in custody, the children were forced to abandon their education. Sowore highlighted that the family's lives were permanently altered by the loss of their mother and the long absence of their father, emphasizing the irreversible consequences of the state's actions.

Think about the human cost of this monumental injustice: a woman lost her life in custody; a husband lost his wife and more than four years of his freedom; and their children lost their mother, their father's presence, and crucial years of their education.

— Omoyele Sowore, Activist and Convener, Take It Back Movement

Advocacy and Demands for Accountability

The effort to locate the couple and secure their freedom involved a coordinated push by Amnesty International, Omoyele Sowore, and Barrister Deji Adeyanju. Sowore stated that the DSS initially denied that they had even arrested the couple, necessitating a relentless search until they were eventually located at the Niger State facility.

Sowore is now calling for a formal investigation into the incident, demanding that those responsible for the unlawful detention and the death in custody be held accountable. He stressed that state power must not be wielded without accountability and that the Ifedi family deserves justice for their ordeal.

Nigeria cannot continue to be an unjust nation operated by hooligans in government who wield state power without accountability. There must be justice for Calista, Sunday, Merit and their entire family.

— Omoyele Sowore, Activist and Convener, Take It Back Movement