The Imo state Police command on Thursday paraded fifteen suspects said to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), arrested from a forest of Obiangwu and Logara in Ngor-Okpala council area of Imo State.

The State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Henry Okoye, confirmed this to newsmen in Owerri, at the command’s headquarters.

According to the police, the arrest was made possible following the confessions made by some of the suspected IPOB members earlier arrested by the command over alleged attacks in the state.

The command said: “The Commissioner of Police Imo State Command, CP Aboki Danjuma has assured the good people of Imo State and those in diaspora wishing to return home for the yuletide celebration of their maximum safety and security during and after the seasons. The CP made this known while parading fifteen (15) suspected IPOB/ESN terrorists on 6/12/2023 at the Command’s headquarters in Owerri, during which he assertively stated that the Command will continue to clamp down on subversive and unrepentant criminal syndicate until the State is free from any form of violent crime.

“The arrest of the 15 suspects is sequel to a sustained follow-up to the confessions made by a notorious IPOB/ESN suspect arrested a few days back by operatives of the Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Squad. The gallant operatives led by CSP Oladimeji Odeyeyiwa, tactically maneuvered into the hideouts of the suspected terrorist at Obiangwu and Logara Forest in Ngor-Okpala LGA of Imo State, gave the hoodlums a surprise attack, and forced them to surrender.

“On searching the suspects and their hideout, one AK 47 riffle loaded with 21 rounds of live ammunition, charms, one cut-to-size double barrel short gun, four locally made short gun, three rounds of live ammunition, weeds suspected to be cannabis sativa, suspected hard drug substance, one militia camouflage T-Shirt, one Improvised Explosive Device IEDs, one Guinea foul with fetish items on it, One POS Device used in extorting money from their potential victims, and various denominations of Biafra currency were recovered.”

“The suspects will be arraigned in court upon completion of a comprehensive investigation.

“The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command assured the good people of Imo State of the Command’s unalloyed determination in ensuring that the entire length and breadth of the State is adequately protected and free from all forms of violent crimes. He beckoned on them to support the Police and other sister security agencies with timely and actionable information that will assist in crusade crime and criminality in the State,” the police said. (Vanguard)

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