The Tactical Team of Imo State Police Command has raided the IPOB/ESN camps, killing three while arresting nine others.
The raid is in consonance with the mandate to the officers and men of the Command by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Alkali Baba Usman, to fish out all bandits groups, especially members of the Indigenous People of Biafra and the Eastern Security Network with the aim of restoring normalcy to the state.
In a statement issued on Thursday in Owerri by the Police Command’s Spokesman CSP Michael Abatham, he said that the raid is in tandem with the determination and directives of the Commissioner of Police, Imo Command, CP Rabiu Hussaini to execute this mandate holistically.
Abatham said that the “Command’s tactical teams had on February 7, 2022, after credible intelligence gathering and surveillance of some identified camps of the terror groups in the state, stormed in a commando-style, two identified terror camps located in Okwudo in Njaba LGA of Imo State and Umuorji Mgbidi in Oru West LGA of Imo State.”
He said that the team immediately engaged the hoodlums in a fierce gun battle and in the process, successfully dislodged them due to their number and superior fire-power.
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According to him, the hoodlums suffered heavy casualties in the process as they lost three of their members while nine others were arrested with various degrees of bullet wounds.
Those arrested include Ekene Abiaziem age 31 years from Mgbidi, Emmanuel Nwabueze age 58 years from Mgbidi, Ifeanyi Eze age 38 years -Mgbidi, Izunna Chukwukezie age 39 years from Okwudo, Ejike Onuabuike m age 44 years from Okwudo, Chukwuebuka Elvis Nkonta age 27 years from Okwudo, Jerohm Amaiah m 33 years of Okwudo, Chukwuebuka Nwachukwu age 23 years from Okwudo and Chimobi Ogbonna age 27 years from Awomama to the station.
The PPRO said that items discovered while combing the bush during their search of the camps include three automatic pump action guns, four locally-made pistols, 21 rounds of live cartridges, four locally-made improvised explosives devices (IEDs), five sharpened cutlasses, five rounds of 7.62 mm live AK-47 rifle ammunition, four rounds of 5.56 mm live assault rifle ammunition.
Others are one big rubber drum containing substances suspected to be Indian hemp, some quantities of ice hard drugs suspected to be Mkpurumiri, one live tortoise, assorted black charms, four Biafran flags, several BIAFRAN/MASSOB identity cards, three battle-axes, four Biafran berets and assorted phones.
The Public Relations Officers of the command said that already investigation is ongoing, adding that the three corpses were later deposited at Federal Medical Center Mortuary Owerri, lmo State.
He said that in the course of the investigation, it was revealed that those terror suspects are the ones that have been terrorising the good people of the state.
According to him, most of the reported cases of kidnapping and armed robbery were perpetrated by them, adding that they have made useful statements and have volunteered to assist the police in the arrest of members of the gang presently on the run.
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