Troops of the Joint Task Force South-East Operation Udo Ka II, on Sunday, October 1, 2023, cleared four notorious camps of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, the Eastern Security Network (ESN) in Ihube, Aku and Umulolo, in Okigwe local government area of Imo State and recovered corpses both fresh and old.
A statement posted on the Nigerian Army’s social media handles on Monday signed by Lt. Col. Jonathan Unuakhalu on behalf of Operation Udo Ka II, said the troops during the clearance operations encountered many Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) enroute the camps.
He said the troops overpowered the criminals with superior firepower, forcing them to flee into neighbouring forests with gunshot wounds.
“It was discovered that the camps were being used to perpetrate atrocities such as cannibalism, occultic practices, and ritual killings to instil fears into the law-abiding citizens. These were evident from many fresh and old corpses discovered while clearing the entire camps,” the statement said.
The troops also destroyed houses of the two spiritual leaders/herbalists (Dibias) who fled upon troops’ approach.
The statement noted further that the shrine of the wanted terrorist, Amobi Chinoso Okafor, a.k.a Temple, where human sacrifices were being made was also destroyed.
The Joint Task Force neutralised two IPOB/ESN members and arrested four others.
Items recovered from the camps include different denominations of the Biafra currencies, one new powerbike, four motorcycles, solar panels. Others are POP cements and petroleum tanker suspected to have been hijacked from hard-working Igbo owners trying to make a living.
He assured that operation UDO KA II will continue to combate crime and criminality in accordance with the extant rules and regulations guiding its operations.
He enjoined all law-abiding citizens of the South-East region to provide the troops with timely, credible, and reliable information, which will lead to ending the menace of insecurity occasioned by activities of the terrorist group in the region.
