Nigerian soldiers carrying out Operation UDO KA raided an Indigenous People of Biafra camp in Igboro Forest, Abia State, on Saturday.
According to a statement released on X by the Nigeria Army on Sunday, the raid was carried out to apprehend the killers of five soldiers at Obikabia Junction in Aba last week.
The statement read, “In order to apprehend the perpetrators of the attack on our own troops (three out of those killed are from the SE) at Aba last week as well as to recover arms and ammunition from the Indigeneous People of Biafra and its affiliate Eastern Security Network terrorist group, troops of Operation UDO KA conducted another successful clearance and raid operation to the IPOB/ESN Camp in Igboro Forest in Arochukwu LGA of Abia State yesterday.”
The statement revealed that during the operation, the forces engaged the IPOB group in a shootout, killing six members of the gang.
It added, “During the intelligence-led operation, troops encountered improvised explosive devices along the axis of advance, and one soldier sustained a minor injury from the fragment.
“The terrorists’ feeble firefight was adequately subdued with superior firepower, which led to the neutralisation of six members of the criminal terrorist group while others escaped into adjoining bushes with varying degrees of gunshot wounds as blood stains were seen along their escape routes.”
The soldiers were also said to have recovered weaponry, including three locally made rocket-propelled grenade launchers, two locally made artillery cannons with tripods, and bombs.
Furthermore, recovered Dane guns, Biafran flags, and vehicles were claimed to have been burned, while the camp itself was destroyed.
In a statement, the Joint Task Force Operation UDO KA asked Abia communities to continue providing credible and timely information to security personnel in order to help eliminate criminals in the state and the broader southeastern area.
Chronicle NG reports that the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, increased the N25 million bounty placed on the killers of the soldiers in Aba to N30 million.
The governor mentioned that the state government had also started working with the security agencies to ensure that such incidents do not happen again in the state.