After initial 'capture', army declares notorious terror kingpin wanted, places ₦30 million bounty

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The Nigerian Army has declared a notorious terror kingpin, Ifeanyi Eze, wanted.

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Eze, popularly known as Gentle De Yahoo, hails from Imo State, South-east Nigeria.

He was earlier declared “captured” by the military authorities before resurfacing in January.

A top military official confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday that the Nigerian Army issued the wanted notice.

₦30 million bounty

The wanted notice, which has a photograph of Mr Eze, was circulated by the Joint Task Force in the South-east, known as Operation Udo Ka.

The notice also bears the logos of the Nigerian Army and Udo Ka.

Udo Ka is an ongoing army-led joint security team in the South-east tasked with clearing criminal networks and armed groups, particularly targeting activities linked to the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

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“A reward of ₦30,000,000 awaits anyone who provides credible information leading to the capture of Gentle De Yahoo threatening peace in the South-east,” the notice reads in part.

The army provided phone numbers and urged Nigerians with credible information about the terror kingpin to contact the security authorities using them.

The information could be provided anonymously, the notice said.

Who is Gentle De Yahoo?

Mr Eze, who claims to be a Biafran agitator, has been linked to some deadly attacks in the Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State, including the murder of three of his fighters in the area.

The terror kingpin is a commander of the Biafra Liberation Army in Okigwe, which was established by Simon Ekpa, a controversial Biafra agitator and leader of Autopilot, a faction of IPOB.

IPOB is a group leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra, which it wants carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria.

Mr Ekpa was jailed last year for terrorism in Finland, a Nordic country.

Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES reported in September that Mr Eze and his boys were feared killed when Nigerian troops raided their hideout in Aku-Ihube, a community in the Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State.

‘Initial capture’

This newspaper earlier reported that the Defence Headquarters had announced that troops of Operation Udo Ka of the Nigerian Army “captured” Mr Eze during an operation in the south-eastern state between eight and 13 October 2025.

But on 28 January this year, a video clip which went viral showed the terror kingpin announcing his return from an undisclosed location and threatening those he accused of betraying him.

In the clip seen by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Eze, who was also dancing to celebrate his survival, suggested that he had been in Akwa Ibom State, South-south Nigeria, where he had gone to receive medical treatment after he and his militants were poisoned.

READ ALSO: Court strikes out suit filed against APC candidate for Imo federal constituency

‘It could be AI, but we’ll investigate it’

At a press briefing in late January, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Michael Onoja, said the video clip might have been AI-generated.

“What I can say is that in this current dispensation of AI, it is possible to create anything just to destabilise and cause panic within the society,” Mr Onoja, a major general, had said.

“Notwithstanding, we will initiate necessary action with relevant security agencies to confirm if it is that he (Mr Eze) is back,” the director added.

He vowed that if the military authorities confirmed the return of the terror kingpin, they would immediately take action to prevent him and his group from causing more harm to people.