The Imo State Police Force raided a terrorist hideout in Ihube, Okigwe Local Government Area, and killed six of them.
The gang is believed to be the mastermind behind the attack on the Owerri Correctional Centre, the killing of five policemen, the burning of Arondizuogu Police Station, and several kidnappings in Imo State.
The Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in a statement shared via the force’s Facebook page on Saturday.
Adejobi said on January 24, 2025, operatives of the command’s tactical unit, acting on credible intelligence, launched a coordinated operation to locate and dislodge the terrorists’ hideout, adding that police operatives located the terrorists’ hideout in a forest in Ihube, Okigwe LGA and raided the suspects.
He said the police acting on credible information on Friday raided a forest in Ihube, Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State where they attacked the alleged terrorist gang, three of whom were members of the Eastern Security Network.
According to him, as they approached the forest, the operatives came under heavy fire from the IPOB/ESN terrorists but they displayed extraordinary courage and engaged in a fierce gun battle with the attackers.
The statement read: “The operation neutralized six members of the terrorist group, including three ESN leaders identified as Ifeanyi Anayo alias Zuma De Rock (28), Chukwuemeka Odionyenfe alias Nmimi (22) and Kingsley Sunday (21) — all from Ogube, Ihube in Okigwe Local Government Area — and recovered five AK-47 rifles, 552 rounds of live ammunition, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), communication equipment as well as eight operational motorcycles used by the group.
