The combined troops of 302 Artillery and 14 Field Engineer Regiments of the Nigerian Army conducting operations against terrorists have captured two locally made artillery projectile launchers from fighters of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Eastern Security Network (ESN), its armed affiliate.
Brig Gen Onyema Nwachukwu, Director, Army Public Relations, said in a statement
that artillery weapons, armed with projectiles, were seized alongside other items as troops swooped on the dissident fighters, who fled in disarray, deserting their camp upon sighting the troops’ advancement.
According to the statement, a member of the dissident group was arrested, and several items, including 48 rounds of 7.62 mm NATO ammunition, four mobile phones, one handheld communication radio, and substances suspected to be cannabis, among others, were recovered by the troops.
“In a separate operation on the same day, troops of 34 Artillery Brigade conducted an offensive operation against oil thieves in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State.
“Troops recovered several items from the camp, including one crude oil cooking oven, three reservoirs, several connecting hoses and pipes, three mobile phones, one power-generating set, three pumping machines, one CCTV camera mounted on a treetop, substances suspected to be cannabis, and some fetish objects,” Nwachukwu said.
He also stated that the same troops, in a similar operation conducted the same day, uncovered and destroyed an illegal refining site operating with several drums and crude oil ovens laden with stolen crude oil, a dugout pit containing 50,000 litres of crude oil, and 57 sacks of illegally refined automation gas oil.
“Surprisingly, the sacks of illegally refined products were surreptitiously concealed in a community health centre at Egbema Shell and Egbema West, respectively, in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State,” he said.
