The Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement on Monday @HQNigerianArmy narrated that the operation, which took place on Sunday, witnessed a fierce gun battle that inflicted severe losses on the terrorists’ group, compelling them to retreat and abandon their camp in disarray.
Clearance operations
He stated that a thorough search of the captured camp by the gallant troops led to the recovery of 5 locally fabricated double barrel guns, 2 motorbikes and assorted foodstuff belonging to the terrorists.
The Director added that in a separate Clearance operation on the same day in Kankara Local Government Area, Katsina State, troops cleared Dan Birgima, Ungwan Noma, Katoge, and Pauwa Villages.
According to him, during the operation, troops gunned down 2 insurgents in combat and recovered 3 AK-47 Rifles, 8 Magazines, 57 rounds of 7.62mm Special ammunition, 3 Baofeng Radio sets, 12 Baofeng Radio Chargers and one Bandolier. The troops also rescued a civilian, who had been in captivity of the insurgents for days. Two Motorbikes and makeshift structures in the insurgents’ camp were also destroyed by the troops.
Military operations in Ebonyi State
Nwachukwu also disclosed that in the same vein, troops have cleared Dandalla, Madada, Dogon Karfe, Hayi, Gobirawan and Kango Kuyambana villages in Gusau and Maru Local Government Areas, Zamfara State.
He added that in the encounter with the insurgents, troops neutralized 2 of them and recovered one AK- 47 rifle, 3 fabricated guns, 2 rounds of Anti- Aircraft ammunition, one Motorbike and 2 Solar panels.
In South East Nigeria, Nwachukwu said that troops on Sunday, successfully raided and destroyed IPOB/ ESN Fighters’ Fire arms production factory located between Ekoli Edda and Amagwu Ohafia communities in Abia and Eboyin States, respectively.
According to him, the dissidents’ camp, which was used for fabricating fire arms and production of ammunition was fortified with fire trenches/sand bag parapets and powered with a 15 KVA Generator.
The vigilant troops recovered 2 fabricated AK-47 rifles, one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) bomb, 2 IPOB/ESN flags, as well as Welding and Filing machines from the the factory.
“These successful operations demonstrate the commitment of the Nigerian Army in combating the nation’s security challenges to enhance safety and security. We enjoin members of the public to continue to support the Nigerian Army, sister services and other security agencies in the ongoing fight against the nation’s adversaries,”Nwachukwu declared.