By Amah
Kindly share:
Operatives of the Imo State Police Command have foiled an attack on the Njaba Divisional Headquarters by hoodlums suspected to be members of the Eastern Security Network, the militia wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
Henry Okoye, the spokesperson of the Imo State PoliceCommand, in a statement said the attackers arrived in three Sports Utility Vans, SUVs, and launched an assault on the headquarters with sporadic gunfire.
“In response, the ever-gallant operatives swiftly took up defensive positions and engaged the assailants, resulting in the neutralisation of three attackers. The remaining assailants, who sustained various gunshot injuries, fled into nearby bushes,” he said.
“During the operation, our forces recovered one General Purpose Machine Gun, one AK-47 rifle, and three vehicles — a Toyota Lexus 470, a Mercedes GLK, and a Toyota Venza.”
According to Okoye, Aboki Danjuma, the state Commissioner of Police, is leading an operation to arrest the fleeing suspects.
Aboki Danjuma commended the the operatives for their gallantry and assured the public of the command’s commitment to enhancing the state’s internal security, promising that it would not relent in taking decisive actions against any threats to public peace.
The spate of violent attacks in Imo State, which seemed to have abated for a few months after last November’s governorship election has taken an upsurge again.
Earlier in the month, unknown gunmen had killed two vigilante members at the Isiala Mbano Local Government Area headquarters.
In yet another attack almost at the same time, gunmen also killed a policeman in nearby Etiti after razing the Obowo Police Station in the state.
Recall that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the IPOB, has been in detention since his arrest and repatriation from Kenya in 2021.
Although Kanu has dissociated himself and his pro-Biafra secessionist group from the spiralling violence in the area, the Eastern Security Network, ESN, the militia arm of IPOB, which was created to ward off killer-herdsmen from the South-east, has been a prime suspect in the violence.
However, a splinter group from IPOB, known as Autopilot, which is led by Finland-based Simon Ekpa, is accused of being behind the violence.
