Four suspected secessionists, killed in shootout with Police, recovers dangerous weapons
Four suspected secessionists, killed in shootout with Police, recovers dangerous weapons
The Anambra Police Command says a joint security team, on Tuesday, neutralised four suspected secessionists in Ogboji-Ajali Road, Orumba South LGA of the state.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement issued in Awka and made available to newsmen on Wednesday
Ikenga stated that the team comprised the police and members of the state security vigilance group, Agunechemba.
“The police-led joint security patrol team, Aguata Sector, recorded a major operational success in the evening of June 23, following an armed confrontation with a suspected secessionist armed gang on the Ogboji–Ajalli Road in Orumba South LGA of Anambra.
“During the operation, security operatives neutralised four members of the armed gang and recovered a cache of weapons, ammunition, explosive devices, and other incriminating items,” he added.
He stated that the recovered exhibits included one General Purpose Machine Gun with 53 rounds of linked live ammunition, two AK-47 rifles, two magazines, twenty-nine rounds of 7.62 x 39mm ammunition and 13 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition.
Others were four undetonated IEDs, police camouflage uniforms and accessories, one white Toyota Sienna bus, with Registration Number KJA 919 KH (Lagos), 10 Android phones, and two feature phones.
The rest were one laptop computer, one Point-of-Sale machine, two power banks, assorted charms, two live cartridges, ATM cards, a national identification card, and a driver’s licence.
Ikenga stated that the operation was carried out “during a visibility and confidence-building patrol”, following credible intelligence gathered over time, concerning the movement of heavily armed suspected members of a secessionist armed group.
He disclosed that the group operated in the aforementioned Toyota Sienna vehicle.
He explained that preliminary investigations indicate that other members of the gang fled into the surrounding bushes with gunshot injuries.
The PPRO added that the team had intensified its operations in the area, including extensive combing and search efforts to apprehend the fleeing suspects and recover additional weapons and operational equipment.
He gave assurance that the command, in collaboration with other security agencies, would sustain proactive intelligence-led and result-oriented operations against criminal elements that threaten the peace, safety, and security of Anambra residents. (NAN)
