The Anambra Joint Security Force has killed two suspected gunmen and arrested a suspected member of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra in separate operations across the state.
The spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the development in a statement issued on Tuesday, noting that the operations were part of continued efforts to rid the state of criminal elements.
“The Anambra police command, under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, continues to record major breakthroughs in its relentless efforts to rid the state of criminal elements,” the statement read.
“In a series of coordinated operations across the state, police operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, in the early hours of July 15, caught one Gospel Nneto (OZ), male, aged 31, a notorious leader of a proscribed armed separatist group.”
Ikenga added that in a separate incident on the evening of July 14, operatives from the Nteje Division responded to an attack by two armed suspects and engaged the assailants in a gunfight. The two suspects were killed in the exchange, and weapons including a pump-action gun and a jackknife were recovered.
The police also reported another successful operation involving divisional officers from Nimo and Nteje, who, alongside local vigilance groups, rescued three kidnap victims held by suspected gunmen in the area. Weapons, including another pump-action gun and a jackknife, were also recovered during the mission.
According to Ikenga, a joint team of operatives from Nimo Division and local security personnel conducted a search operation in a forest between Oraukwu and Nimo communities on the evening of July 15, based on credible intelligence. The effort led to the rescue of two female kidnap victims.
“This led to the successful rescue of two female kidnap victims. The victims will be reunited with their families, after necessary medical and psychological evaluations,” he stated.
He further disclosed that during interrogation, the arrested suspect, Gospel Nneto, confessed to being a photographer for IPOB, operating from a camp known as ‘Mother Valley’ located along the Orsumohu-Orsu axis.
“He is currently undergoing further interrogation as discreet investigations continue to uncover his criminal network,” Ikenga added.
He assured the public that efforts were ongoing to track down other fleeing members of the criminal groups and reiterated the command’s commitment to ensuring the safety and security of residents and visitors in the state.
