IPOB members dead, 9 arrested after encounter with SWAT

Nine IPOB members arrested after they had a gun duel with the police—as three of them died— are now cooperating with the Imo police command by giving useful information.

The spokesman for the command, Micheal Abattam, said the command’s tactical teams carried out the raid on Monday February 7, after credible intelligence gathering and surveillance of some identified camps of the terror group located at Okwudo in Njaba LGA and Umuorji Mgbidi in Oru West LGA.

The oldest of those arrested  is Emmanuel Nwabueze, 58, while the youngest is Chukwuebuka Nwachukwu, 23 .

Others are mostly between 24 and 35.

Recovered from their camps three automatic pump action guns, four locally made pistols, twenty-one (21) rounds of live cartridges, four locally made Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDS) were recovered.

Other items include, five cutlasses, five rounds of 7.62 mm live AK47 rifle ammunition, four rounds of 5.56 mm live assault rifle ammunition, one big rubber drum containing substances suspected to be Indian hemp, Ice  drugs suspected to be “Mkpurumiri”, one live tortoise, assorted black charms, four Biafran flags, several Biafran/MASSOB Identity cards, three battle axes, four Biafran berets and assorted phones.

The suspects confirmed they were behind several reported cases of kidnapping and armed robbery.

CSP Abattam noted that while investigation is ongoing, the three corpses have been deposited at Federal Medical Center Mortuary Owerri.