Tunji Wusu –
The 82 Division Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police, and other security services attacked the hideouts and training camps of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), in the Orsomoghu Forest, which spans Anambra and Imo States.
According to the Army’s spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu, the raid on Monday, July 31, 2023, is part of ongoing actions to discourage enforcement of the illegal sit-in announced by IPOB and ESN.
Troops were informed to the violent activities of the gang implementing the two-week sit-at-home order in Onitsha, Nnewi, and Iheme Obosi in Anambra State, and New Market in Enugu State, according to Nwachukwu.
During the raids, the army removed IPOB camps in Ekeututu, Orsomoghu, Lilu, and Mother Valley, he claimed.
According to the spokesperson, forces came into touch with the group’s armed militants, who exploded Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), also known as Ogbunigwe, and shot them using locally built mortar tubes.
However, the forces overcame the group, forcing them to surrender their position and flee into surrounding bushes with gunshot wounds.
The military continued to cordon and search the hideouts, resulting in the arrest of five fleeing members of the organization and the recovery of one IPOB flag, one CCTV camera, two detonated IED explosives, and a constructed mortar tube.
He went on to say that the IED detonated by the culprits injured five soldiers and two Nigeria Police officers to varied degrees.