Troops of the newly established 15 Brigade of the Nigerian Army have dismantled three suspected camps linked to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), in Anambra State.
The operation was carried out in the early hours of Saturday, August 15, following intelligence on the activities of suspected IPOB/ESN members around Osuakwa, near the boundary between Ihiala and Ogbaru Local Government Areas.
The troops, operating under Joint Task Force South East, Operation UDO KA, conducted the operation with personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS) and members of the Agunechemba Vigilante Group.
The Nigerian Army said in a statement on X that the joint team came under fire during the operation but responded, killing three suspected IPOB/ESN members and overrunning the three camps.
The security team recovered several weapons, explosives and other items from the camps. They included one FN rifle with 10 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, a pump-action shotgun with five cartridges and 15 sticks of dynamite.
Other items recovered were four motorcycles, a gas cylinder, three hybrid batteries, two car batteries and three handheld radio chargers.
Further searches in the area led to the arrest of a suspected IPOB/ESN member identified as Chijioke, as well as a man and a woman suspected of being accomplices. The Army said the three were found in the company of six children.
The Commander of 15 Brigade commended the troops, DSS personnel and members of the Agunechemba Vigilante Group for their cooperation during the operation.
He said the operation was a setback for criminal groups operating in the South-East and pledged to sustain intelligence-led operations with other security agencies and local stakeholders.
The brigade also assured residents that it would continue operations aimed at preventing criminal groups from establishing bases and protecting communities across Anambra State and the wider South-East.
