Security agencies dislodge IPOB, ESN from hideouts

Security agencies, Saturday, raided a suspected hideout of outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militant wing, ESN at Idara Nnebo, Ihe Mbosi and Ukpor, two communities in Ekwusigo and Nnewi South Local Government Areas of Anambra State.

Army spokesperson Onyema Nwachukwu disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

He said the IPOB members were dislodged from their training camp when the security operatives raided the camp.

Mr Nwachukwu, a brigadier general, said the operation was carried out by a joint security team comprising troops of 302 Regiment of the Nigerian Army, operatives of the Nigerian Navy, officials of State Security Service and police operatives.

“In a clearance operation conducted in the early hours of Saturday, June 25, 2022, troops cleared IPOB fire positions and improvised explosive devices to dislodge the criminals from their hideouts,” he said.

Two AK-47 rifles, three magazines with five rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, two pump action rifles, one locally fabricated gun and three electric power generators were among the items recovered during the raid, according to the army spokesperson.

He said troops of 103 Battalion also raided another IPOB camp at Nkwere Inyi Forest in Oji River Local Government Area of Enugu State.

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“The encounter forced the criminals to flee in disarray,” Mr Nwachukwu said.

The army spokesperson said one Lexus and Toyota Highlander SUVs suspected to have been stolen were among items recovered during the operation.

Others are two motorcycles, one double barrel gun and seven live cartridges.

Mr Nwachukwu appealed to residents in the South-east states to continue to support security agencies, especially the troops of the Nigerian Army, with “credible information” on the activities of criminals in the region.

IPOB, which is seeking the creation of an independent state of Biafra which they want carved out from the South-east and some parts of South-south, has been linked to deadly attacks across the two regions.