Joint troops, comprising the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Navy, Air Force, Nigerian Police, and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, have successfully cleared several camps belonging to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its Eastern Security Network (ESN) along Umulolo-Umukele-Amousu and Agbobu in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State.
Lt.-Col. Jonah Unuakhalu, Acting Deputy Director, 82 Division Army Public Relations, revealed that despite encountering Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), the troops stormed and destroyed the hideouts of the terrorist groups. The operations also involved cordon-and-search activities in buildings used by the terrorists.
During the search, disturbing signs of the group’s activities, including occultic practices and acts of cannibalism, were discovered. The troops successfully destroyed the IED-making factory of the terrorists, recovered rank badges of two kidnapped policemen, and found various items such as Biafran currencies, fake US Dollar bills, Biafran Liberation Army T-shirts, military kit bags, cables used for IED detonation, and axes.
Unuakhalu mentioned the arrest of two suspects and the discovery of burnt policemen corpses for proper burial. In Owerri metropolis, troops on a night patrol thwarted a kidnapping attempt by suspected IPOB/ESN terrorists, engaging them in a gun duel, forcing them to abandon the victim. The troops recovered weapons and the vehicle used by the criminals.
Addressing civil-military relations, Maj.-Gen. Hassan Dada, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, visited Isiuzo-Amufu community in Enugu State. He emphasized the need for community cooperation and assistance to end insecurity, herders and farmers clash, and youth restiveness in the region.
The GOC expressed commitment to collaboration with other security agencies and urged the people of the South-East to provide timely and credible information through the Emergency Line ‘193’. He assured continuous efforts to protect lives and property within the constitutional roles of the Nigerian Army.
