You are here: HomeNews2021 07 14Article 456802

General News of Wednesday, 14 July 2021

Source: naijanews.com

IPOB: Family members speak on three Israeli filmmakers detained by DSS

three Israelis arrested three Israelis arrested

The Department of State Service last week arrested three Israelis for shooting a documentary in Southeast Nigeria.

The families of the three Israeli filmmakers arrest by the secret police have disclosed their missing in Nigeria.

It was reported that the Israelis were arrested on suspicion that they had met with members of the Indigenous People of Biafra and were in support of the agitation.

However, the family members of the filmmakers while speaking with The Times of Israel noted that the allegations levelled against them has no stand.

They accused the IPOB of using its social media account to take advantage of the Israelis’ trip, claiming that the three were supporting the group.

According to The Times, the Israeli Embassy in Abuja is following the case closely and is in contact with Nigerian authorities.

It was revealed that one of the filmmakers arrested is Rudy Rochman, a Zionist activist with almost 95,000 followers on Instagram.

Others that were arrested are filmmaker Noam Leibman and French-Israeli journalist E. David Benny.

The Israelis were in Nigeria to film “We Were Never Lost,” a documentary exploring Jewish communities in African countries such as Kenya, Madagascar, Uganda, and Nigeria.

They took off from Ben Gurion Airport on July 5 and landed in Nigeria the next day.

The crew was detained at a synagogue during Friday night services in the Igbo village of Ogidi by the DSS and taken to Abuja.

The filmmakers were aware of the political sensitivity surrounding the filming of the Igbo community, the family members said.

Last Thursday, the We Were Never Lost Facebook page stressed: “We do not take any position on political movements as we are not here as politicians nor as a part of any governmental delegations.”