A team of operatives of the Anambra State security Special Joint Task Force known as “Operation Kpochapu” has raided a hideout of the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) in Okpoko, Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The team, comprising men of the Police, Army, Navy, Department of State Security (DSS) and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), made several arrests during the raid.

A Channels TV report said that the leader of the operation, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Agugoesi, explained that the raid was consequent upon an intelligence report of daily criminal activities being perpetrated on innocent citizens living in the area by some suspected criminals and members of the proscribed MASSOB in Okpoko and its environs.

“Mr. Agugoesi who supervised the demolition of the criminal shanties in the area, warned the youths, especially in this election period, to desist from crime as anyone caught would be dealt with accordingly,” the report said.

Okpoko, a densely populated community, is an area occupied mostly by petty traders of Ochanja and Bridge Head market as well as other artisans who are not indigenous people of the state.

Passing some neighbourhoods in the area, the team walked through a bushy swamp that led to the camp of the suspected miscreants.

According to the Channels report, “With bags of sand blocking the road strategically positioned like that of a police check point, the territory has an identity as it was clearly written on the wall, ‘United States of Biafra’, and another inscription of ‘Victory is Sure’.

“Suspicious items and materials were found littered everywhere, slaughtered goats, wraps of cannabis and belts.

“Moving further into the territory, the team accosted a shrine. Further down the bad road, a dilapidated structure that served as their cell with symbols of Biafra and other bizarre drawings and inscriptions on the wall were seen. The building was immediately demolished.

“The security agencies in the state are combat-ready as they promised a crime-free election period in Anambra state.”

•Photo shows men of Operation Kpochapu on duty.

Update news