Troops of the Joint Task Force South-East Operation Udo Ka II, on Sunday, October 1, 2023, cleared four notorious camps of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, the Eastern Security Network (ESN) in Ihube, Aku and Umulolo, in Okigwe local government area of Imo State and recovered corpses both fresh and old.
A statement posted on the Nigerian Army’s social media handles on Monday signed by Lt. Col. Jonathan Unuakhalu on behalf of Operation Udo Ka II, said the troops during the clearance operations encountered many Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) enroute the camps.
He said the troops overpowered the criminals with superior firepower, forcing them to flee into neighbouring forests with gunshot wounds.
“It was discovered that the camps were being used to perpetrate atrocities such as cannibalism, occultic practices, and ritual killings to instil fears into the law-abiding citizens. These were evident from many fresh and old corpses discovered while clearing the entire camps,” the statement said.
The troops also destroyed houses of the two spiritual leaders/herbalists (Dibias) who fled upon troops’ approach.
The statement noted further that the shrine of the wanted terrorist, Amobi Chinoso Okafor, a.k.a Temple, where human sacrifices were being made was also destroyed.