At least three people were killed when operatives of the Nigeria Police Force raided suspected hideouts of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in Enugu State.
The State Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, explained in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday morning that while three of the suspects were neutralised, others escaped with severe bullet wounds after a gun duel with officers.
Ndukwe said the encounter happened in the Imufu community within the Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area of Enugu State.
He said that the feat was achieved by a combined team of police special forces and police operatives serving in Igbo-Eze North Police Division of Enugu State Command in the morning hours of Aug. 10.
The police mouthpiece disclosed that items recovered from the hoodlums included four pump action guns, one locally fabricated revolver gun and pistol, each with 67 live cartridges, military camouflage uniforms, suspected fabrics of IPOB insignia, objects suspected to be amulets and others.
“The combined team, in the morning hours of Aug. 10, raided a suspected IPOB/ESN camp at Imufu in Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area, and the team engaged in a gun duel with the criminals.
“However, three of the hoodlums were neutralised in the ensuing gunfight, while many others escaped with varying degrees of gunshot wounds.
“Preliminary investigation reveals that the criminals were responsible for the shooting and killing of two Neighbourhood Watch Group security personnel on July 21 at about 1 a.m., at Umuagama in Enugu-Ezike community.
“The hoodlums also made several attempts to enforce the illegal sit-at-home order in some parts of the council area recently,” Ndukwe noted in the statement.
The police spokesman added that the state’s Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ammani, had reaffirmed the unwavering commitment of the Police to weed out unrepentant criminals in the state.
He said that the commissioner had also lauded the police operatives for successfully executing the operation while tasking them and others to remain firm, resilient and maintain the tempo.
“The CP further solicits the continued support of citizens while urging residents of Igbo-Eze North council area and owners of medical facilities in particular, to promptly report individuals sighted with gunshot wounds to the nearest police station.
“Residents should call the command’s emergency hotlines on 08032003702, 08075380883, 08086671202 or 08098880172, or send emails to [email protected],” he said.
