Claim: An X user shared an image with the claim that the Nigerian police arrested IPOB members linked to an illegal morgue trading organ in Imo State.
Verdict: Misleading! The shared image has been online since August 2021 and is not linked to the recent raid on a mortuary and hotel allegedly involved in organ trafficking.
Full Text
Over 100 decomposed and mutilated corpses were discovered from an unauthorised private mortuary in Ngor Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State, following a raid by the Imo State Police on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025.
The absconded owner of the properties, identified as Stanley Oparaugo, was discovered to be operating an illegal private mortuary alongside a hotel where he secretly engages in kidnapping, organ harvesting, and trafficking.
Amidst all of this, an X user, @fattylincorn, shared an image with the bold claim that the Nigeria Police have arrested some members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) linked to an illegal morgue operated in Imo State.
“The Nigerian Police have arrested IPOB Human butchers and organ harvesters in Imo State,” the caption of the X post reads. The post attracted over 51,900 views as of Sunday, Dec. 15, 2025.
As of Sunday, Dec. 15, 2025, the post had attracted over 1,371 likes, 550 reposts, 39 quotes, and 71 bookmarks.
Meanwhile, the post’s comment section was filled with both acceptance and doubt.
“IPOB, they are just criminals, not IPOB bro. But thank God they caught them,” one user @LaudsamN wrote.
Another comment by @ThomasUthm98773 read, “Ibos are cannibals.”
Meanwhile, @Truthonlykid asserted, “Show me proof they are Ipob or proof it occurred in imo state.”
We found similar posts shared on Facebook here, here, and here.
Considering the sensitivity of the issue and the incident’s virality, DUBAWA decided to trace the image’s provenance.
Verification
DUBAWA performed a Google Reverse Image Search on the image, which led us to various media outlets reporting the arrest of some members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)/Eastern Security Network (ESN) in August 2021.
A publication by Vanguard Newspaper, on Aug. 2, 2021, reported the arrest of 20 suspected members of the IPOB and ESN carrying out killings and heinous activities in a hotel located in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State.
Items recovered from the ESN members arrested alongside seven other females in the hotel include Army camouflage uniforms, arms, and ammunition, among others.
Another media outlet, TheNation, reported the same incident in 2021, adding that Boniface Okeke, who owned the hotel where the syndicates were arrested, confessed to sponsoring and supporting IPOB/ESN operations in Imo State. The report revealed that he has supported the activities of the Eastern Security Network with over ₦10 million.
Meanwhile, Tribune, StreetJournal, and allAfrica also reported a similar incident in August 2021.
Conclusion
DUBAWA research revealed the image is linked to a raid on IPOB members’ hideout in Imo State in Aug. 2021, not the recent case of an Illegal morgue trading organ in the State.