Nigerian troops kill six suspected IPOB members in Abia forest

Troops of the Nigerian army have killed six suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed militant wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN), in Abia State, South-east Nigeria.

IPOB is a group seeking the independent state of Biafra, which it wants to be carved out of the South-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria.

The spokesperson of Operation Udo Ka of the Nigerian army, Jonah Unuakhalu, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

How it happened

Mr Unuakhalu, a lieutenant colonel, said the six suspects were killed on Saturday when troops of Operation Udo Ka of the Nigerian army conducted a clearance operation at a suspected IPOB/ESN camp in Igboro Forest in Arochukwu Local Government Area of the state.

“During the intelligence-led operation, troops encountered Improvised Explosive Devices along its axis of advance, and one soldier sustained minor injury from the fragment.

“The (suspected) terrorists’ feeble firefights were adequately subdued with superior firepower that led to the neutralisation of six members of the criminal terrorist group,” he said.

The spokesperson said other members of the group fled through nearby bushes with gunshot injuries, adding that blood stains were seen along their escape routes.

He explained that the troops carried out the operation to arrest those behind the 30 May killing of five soldiers in Obikabia Junction in Aba, the commercial hub of the state.

Destruction of camps

Mr Unuakhalu, also the spokesperson of the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, said the troops destroyed all suspected IPOB camps around the area during the operation.

The spokesperson said the troops recovered three locally fabricated rocket-propelled grenade launchers and two locally fabricated artillery guns with tripod and its bombs.

He said other items recovered include dane guns, Biafran flags, as well as Toyota Tundra and Hilux vehicles, which were already burnt in one of the camps.

Mr Unuakhalu said the Joint Task Force Operation Udo Ka has called on the residents of Abia State to continue to cooperate with security agencies by giving “credible and timely information” that will help to track down criminals in the state and South-east.

Background

Some gunmen, on 30 May, attacked and killed five soldiers in Aba.

The gunmen were said to be enforcing a sit-at-home order declared by IPOB across the South-east to mark the annual Biafra Day celebration.

The killing of the soldiers elicited condemnations from across Nigeria.

In its first reaction, the Nigerian army vowed to retaliate against the killing of the soldiers.

Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State was among the first to condemn the attack. Mr Uzodinma asked security agencies to track down those who killed the soldiers.

President Bola Tinubu also vowed that his administration would “come down heavily” on those responsible for the killing of the soldiers.

On his part, a former Vice-President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, said with the killing of the soldiers, it is now time for a political solution to be explored for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained IPOB leader.

The Abia State Government later announced that they had placed a N25 million bounty on the killers of the five soldiers.

The government subsequently increased the offer to N30 million and also promised to “take up the responsibility of supporting the families of the slain soldiers.”

Barely 24 hours after the killing of the soldiers, residents of the Aba Area accused the Nigerian army of harassment and indiscriminate arrest.

The army would later say that those arrested had been released.