Troops raid, destroy last IPOB stronghold in Imo

Troops of the Nigerian Army, in cooperation with sister security agencies, have raided and destroyed the supreme headquarters of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) at Mother Valley, Orsu council area of Imo.

The Force Commander, Joint Task Force South-East, Operation Udo Ka, Maj.-Gen. Hassan Dada, disclosed this while addressing newsmen at Eke Ututu, Orsu Local Government Area (LGA) of Imo on Friday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Operation Udo Ka which started on Feb. 11, 2024, involved troops of the Nigerian Army, Navy, and Air Force as well as personnel of the Nigerian Police Force, Department of State Services and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.

The Commander said the troops cleared and liberated Ihiteukwa, Eke Ututu and Ihittenansa towns, all in Imo, as well as Orsumoghu and Lilu towns in Ihiala and Ekwusigo LGAs of Anambra.

He said that the headquarters, which served as the last IPOB stronghold, is located in the Mother Valley and spans the Orsu and Ihiala LGAs of Imo and Anambra respectively.

“It is about 5,000 feet below sea level,” Dada disclosed.

He added that the well-concealed forest location afforded the terrorists good cover from air surveillance and served as their command and control centre and military council headquarters.

He also said that during the raid, the last of which occurred on Thursday, March 7, the gallant troops encountered, detonated and recovered many Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and various types of obstacles which were cleared by the determined troops.

He further said the troops also came in contact with the terrorists, subdued them with superior firepower and neutralized many of them while others with varying degrees of gunshot wounds fled into surrounding bushes.

“In addition to many weapons, equipment, IEDs and stolen vehicles recovered over the last three weeks, items recovered in the Mother Valley include three G3 rifles, nine automatic pump action rifles, seven double barrel guns, two locally-made pistols, two rocket-propelled grenade bombs, two AK 47 magazine and one G3 magazine.

“Others were 26 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 16 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, 72 Pump Action Cartridges, one chainsaw, one laptop, one CCTV DVR, 26 CCTV cameras, 17 baofeng radios with batteries and 10 without batteries and their chargers.

“Also recovered were six handheld IEDs, 26 Android phones, 25 ordinary phones, one inverter, one SIM card registration machine, four POS machines, three motorcycle batteries for igniting IEDs, two trumpets, two Biafra flags, 20 ESN certificates, two diaries containing details of ammunition and food supplies and two pairs of Biafra Liberation Army uniforms.

“The joint troops also destroyed about 50 tents in the valley housing the Supreme Headquarters, IPOB/ESN command and control centre, Buteuzor’s hideout and residence, offices, their logistics base, temples and shrines used for occultic practices among many other items,” he said.

Dada commended the Imo and Anambra people for their cooperation with security agencies while requesting them to report any strange faces in their communities to Operation Udo Ka by dialing the emergency line 193 and pressing option 2 from their mobile phones.

He enjoined the leaders of all liberated communities to return to their ancestral homes and deploy community efforts to ensure that all criminal elements who are not from the communities are not allowed to return to desecrate their homelands.

He thanked Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, for their support, advice and guidance throughout the operation.

He assured that the troops will continue to provide all security support to affected communities within the ambit of the law.

NAN, however, reports that in what can best be described as a display of civil-military relations, the Force Commander presented gift items, including bags of rice and cartons of noodles, to women of the Eke Ututu market.