In a successful joint operation conducted on the morning of September 18, 2023, troops from the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Police Force successfully eliminated three combatants associated with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed counterpart, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
This encounter occurred during a clearance operation in the Igboro Forest, situated between the Arochukwu and Ohafia Local Government Areas of Abia state.
Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, the Director of Army Public Relations, confirmed the operation’s success.
He disclosed that following their victory in the firefight, the joint forces wasted no time in dismantling numerous hidden camps utilized by these groups for their illicit activities.
It was discovered that these camps had been operational for several weeks, following credible surveillance that indicated IPOB/ESN were utilizing the forest as a training ground for their members, as well as a staging area for launching attacks on civilians, security personnel, and government facilities within the state.
Upon further inspection of the camp, the brave troops recovered a substantial cache of weapons and ammunition.
Among the items seized were an improvised 16 Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) Gun mounted on a vehicle, an improvised 12 MBRL Gun, an improvised 6 MBRL Gun, an AK-47 Rifle, a Dane Gun, six locally manufactured Rocket Launchers, four Improvised Explosive Devices, five Fragmental Jackets, a Baofeng Radio, Military Camouflage Uniforms, and various talismans.
In a similar operation conducted on the same day, the joint forces of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Police Force, acting on credible intelligence, raided an IPOB/ESN hideout located in Ezioha Mgbowo within the Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu state.
Nwachukwu stated that these armed fighters were in the process of enforcing an illegal sit-at-home order in the region when the vigilant troops apprehended them. In a confrontation that ensued, the armed fighters opened fire upon spotting the approaching troops, but they were decisively defeated as the troops responded with overwhelming firepower.
Three of the fighters were neutralized in the exchange, while the others fled in disarray.
The troops recovered three Pump Action Guns and 10 Machetes from the fleeing insurgents.
Nwachukwu urged the public to continue supporting the Nigerian Army and other security agencies by providing credible information to enhance efforts in combating terrorism, insurgency, and other criminal activities.
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