Suspects in the killings of an inspector and a divisional police officer (DPO) at Ahiara Junction, Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area, have been detained by Imo State police in southeast Nigeria.
Remember that two operatives in Imo state were allegedly killed on November 27 by suspected members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the militant wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
During a news conference on Sunday at the State Police Headquarters in Owerri, Imo State Commissioner of Police Aboki Danjuma revealed that 25 criminal suspects had been detained in the state, including the individuals accused of killing the operatives, as ThisDay reported.
Read Also: FCT community demands government intervention to improve access road conditions
According to Mr. Danjuma, the suspects were detained on suspicion of a number of crimes, including membership in the IPOB, armed robbery, murder, stealing or receiving stolen property, cultism, and illegal possession of weapons and ammunition.
According to the commissioner of police, the suspects in the DPO and inspector’s deaths were also “evidently linked” to the recent murders of a Peoples Democratic Party ward chairperson and a traditional ruler in Ezinihitte Mbaise.
He continued by saying that the murders made him call a conference of different security agencies to discuss how to work together to develop coordinated security plans to find the assailants.
The police were able to search several criminal hideouts with the help of confessions from a few individuals who were caught at the scene of the incidents, he said.
In cooperation with the military, police officers and members of the anti-kidnapping unit stormed the crime suspects’ camp at Umuohie in the Ngor Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State. They removed the terrorists and found two automatic pump action rifles and six live cartridges, the statement read.
Increased arrests and raids
According to Mr. Danjuma, the police officers continued their operation using a tracking device for technological intelligence and stormed another camp in Igbodo-Etche, Rivers State, where they apprehended a native doctor named Everest Agbaragam, 62, who is from the village in the southern state.
“One pump action gun loaded with twelve live cartridge rounds, one large bag containing different denominations of Biafra currencies, one live crocodile, and fetish items were recovered during a search of his shrine,” he stated.
“He (the native doctor) admitted to being an IPOB/ESN member under questioning. Before starting any operation, Mr. Danjuma said he generally makes his allies local “Odeshi” charms, also known as bulletproof charms.
The police commissioner continued by saying that the indigenous physician had given helpful information that had helped the police on December 1st during their search of Umuogwu Forest in the Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area.
When the terrorists saw the police, they opened fire on them, but the combat-ready agents quickly moved into old-fashioned positions and suppressed the threat.
“Some of them were neutralised in the ensuing gun duel, while others with bullet wounds managed to escape into the thick forest,” Mr. Danjuma said.
The police recovered from the suspects five AK-47 weapons, six magazines holding two hundred live rounds, six pump action guns, 121 rounds of live cartridges, one revolver, four handguns built in the area, three motorcycles, charms, IPOB/ESN insignia, military camouflage, and police jackets.
In addition, there were nine handguns manufactured in the area, three Toyota Venza vehicles—one of which was used by the criminals to attack the DPO—a Toyota Highlander SUV, homemade explosives, and a Beretta handgun.
Some of the deadly attacks in the two regions have been connected to IPOB, an organisation that seeks to establish an independent state of Biafra from the South-east and some sections of the South-south.
However, the separatist organisation has consistently refuted any participation in the assaults.
