Orlu: Nigerian Army Recovers Corpses of Soldiers 'Killed By IPOB Members'

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

According to PRNigeria, a senior military official confirmed the development, adding that the security operatives' vehicle that was damaged during the attack had also been recaptured.

This came after the Nigerian troops on Monday allegedly arrested 20 members of the proscribed IPOB after they were said to have attacked soldiers and civilians in Orlu town.

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

The IPOB militias 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 carted 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 controversial Eastern Security Network (ESN), a security arm of Biafran secessionist movement, IPOB.

READ ALSO: What Nigerian Army Did In Orlu 'To Weaken' Nnamdi Kanu's ESN

Akaolisa had said that the Nigerian Army was invited to Orlu by the Imo State Government - a claim the government subsequently corroborated.

“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 had 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.

“There are no Fulani herdsmen in Orlu,” the attorney general had said.

IPOB, which enjoys a huge following in the South-east, has been agitating for an independent state of Biafra and has frequently clashed with security agencies, including the Nigerian Army.

Orlu has been making headlines since December 2020 when diaspora-based Kanu announced the creation of ESN.

The Nigerian Army staged an operation in the area - on the invitation of Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State - after what authorities tagged 'illegal' activities of IPOB's ESN.