The Department of State Services, DSS, has placed Jewish worshipers in southern Nigeria on a watchlist for alleged links to the Indigenous...
The Department of State Services, DSS, has placed Jewish
worshipers in southern Nigeria on a watchlist for alleged links to the
Indigenous People of Biafra, a group advocating an independent state known as
Biafra.
Places of worship like local synagogues are now under
surveillance by the secret agency, sources with the service revealed on
Thursday.
The development came after Nigerian forces stepped up a
crackdown on separatists whom they accuse of crimes and undermining national
security.
“There are indications that many IPOB members and Biafra
supporters are Jewish worshipers,” the source said, adding that “information
and investigations by the DSS have revealed that these people sometimes hold
meetings of Biafra in the synagogues".
“The DSS has therefore placed these worship centers on the
watch list. It is classified,” he said.
Meanwhile, a Jewish adherent from Anambra State in
southeastern Nigeria, denied the claim, saying it was a DSS ploy to crackdown
on Jewish worshipers because Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, is a Jewish
worshiper.
“Obviously the DSS is just trying to play smart, they want
to go back to invading synagogues and justifying it with baseless allegations,”
Chidubem said.
In 2020, Nigerian forces launched raids on synagogues in
Nigeria where they razed six synagogues in the South-East region and arrested
Jewish worshipers for alleged links to the separatist group.
The raid and arrest of Jewish worshipers dragged on into
2021 and 2022, with many adherents still detained, according to reports.
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