Army recovers bodies of soldiers killed in Orlu

The Nigerian Army has recovered the corpses of four soldiers allegedly killed by members of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) militias in Orlu, Imo State.

PRNigeria reported that a senior military official confirmed the development adding that the military vehicle that was damaged during the attack had also been recovered.

This came after the Nigerian troops on Monday arrested 20 members of the proscribed IPOB after they attacked soldiers and civilians in Orlu.

The Nigerian troops in a joint operation involving the Army, Air Force and the Police had sustained raid operation in the area, after the killing of four soldiers on escort duties in the area by IPOB.

The IPOB militia had ambushed and killed the soldiers who were on the escort of the Director Civil Affairs, Brigadier General HE Nzan and his team on inspection of the Civil-Military Project at Nkwerre.

They also took away weapons and a vehicle belonging to the troops.

Channels TV quoted the Attorney General of Imo State, Cyprian Akaolisa, as saying the military operation, which was conducted jointly with the police, was aimed at “clearing camps” said to have been built by the Eastern Security Network, a security arm of the pro-Biafra group, IPOB.

Akaolisa said the Nigerian Army was invited to Orlu by the Imo State Government.

“The state government got intelligence that IPOB was planning an attack against the Orlu people and the government, under the pretext of looking for herders in the communities,” he said.

“The attacks on police stations and killing of policemen during #EndSARS were carried out by IPOB and not protesting youths for the sole purpose of hijacking and stealing weapons.”

“They are now using those arms to destroy Orlu. They killed 10 policemen, a prominent Orlu son, Ignatius Obiezu, and one Emmanuel Okeke and collected their Hilux vehicles,” the attorney general said.

“There are no Fulani herdsmen in Orlu,” he added.