The Nigerian army has revealed the identities of gunmen terrorising the the South-east.
The Army in a statement by the spokesperson of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Jonah Unuakhalu, said those terrorising the South – East were mainly condemned criminals who escaped from Owerri prison during a jail break in Imo state.
According to him, the army made the discovery when troops of Operation Udo Ka II, conducted a clearance operation in the state on Friday.
Udo Ka II ,a military operation in the South-east was conducted on Friday along lhioma – Ihittenansa in Orsu Local Government Area and Okigwe and Umulolo in Okigwe Local Government Area of the state Unuakhalu, a lieutenant colonel, said
The army spokesperson further said the operation was conducted a day after a similar operation in the area, which was a follow up to efforts to track down some suspected members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militant wing, Eastern Security Network.
“These terrorists, mostly the condemned criminals that escaped from Owerri jail break, are low lives that are being used by a criminal abroad to unleash mayhem on all of us,” Mr Unuakhalu said.
He said two suspected IPOB members were arrested during the clearance operations which he explained were aimed at identifying and destroying the camps of suspected IPOB members who allegedly kill,
The spokesperson said the operations were “aimed at identifying and destroying” the camps of suspected IPOB members who under the guise of being Biafra agitators wreak havoc on the region.
“During the simultaneous clearance operations at Umulolo, one of the troops’ vehicles was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED). However, no causality was recorded.
“Troops also came in contact with the terrorists who fled into the nearby bushes with gunshot wounds due to superior fire power. Two suspects were arrested,” he said.
Two locally made guns, ammunition, one PKT machine gun barrel, one big locally made rocket propelled launcher and IED-making materials were among the items recovered from the suspects, according to the army.
Others include, three CCTV cameras, two laptops and a charger, eight mobile phones, three boots, camouflage shorts, two motorcycles and a beret.
“Three shrines used by the terrorists for fortification were destroyed,” he said.
Unuakhalu said the troops, despite encountering the IEDs, further engaged some IPOB terrorists in Eke Ututu, Orsu Local Government Area of the state “where they cleared the hoodlums.”
He explained that the terrorists, during the military operation, fled with gunshot wounds into forests of Lilu in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State and Mother Valley in Orsumoghu in Nnewi South Local Government Area of the state.
The Spokesperson enjoined residents of the South-east region to support the military and other security agencies with “timely, credible and reliable Information” to end security challenges in the zone..
