In a recent operation, the Nigerian Army announced the arrest of an individual and the recovery of arms in a camp allegedly belonging to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its affiliate, the Eastern Security Network (IPOB/ESN).
The Director of Army Public Relations, Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed that the combined troops of 302 Artillery and 14 Field Engineer Regiments conducted the operation. The troops captured two locally made artillery projectile launchers from the dissident fighters.
As the troops advanced on the fighters, who fled upon sighting the military presence, they seized the artillery weapons, armed with projectiles. The operation resulted in the apprehension of one combatant. Several items were recovered, including 48 rounds of 7.62 mm NATO ammunition, four mobile phones, one handheld communication radio, and a substance suspected to be cannabis.
Additionally, troops from the 34 Artillery Brigade conducted an offensive against oil thieves in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State. The troops recovered various items, such as a crude oil cooking oven, reservoirs, connecting hoses, mobile phones, a power generator set, pumping machines, a CCTV camera, and substances suspected to be cannabis and fetish objects from the thieves’ camp.
In a separate operation on the same day, troops uncovered and destroyed an illegal refining site containing crude oil ovens and drums filled with stolen crude oil. They also destroyed a dug-out pit containing about 50,000 liters of crude oil and 57 sacks of illegally refined automation gas oil, which were concealed in a community health center in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State.
Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, the Chief of Army Staff, reiterated the Nigerian Army’s commitment to maintaining peace in the nation amid ongoing challenges related to the activities of proscribed groups in the South-East region. This operation represents a significant step forward in the fight against insecurity in the area.
