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From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Operatives of the Enugu State Police Command have killed two gunmen suspected to be members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the armed wing of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB).
The Police spokesman in Enugu, Daniel Ndukwe, who made this known in a statement on Wednesday, said that the gunmen engaged police operatives in a gun battle before they were neutralised.
Ndukwe said that items including an AK47 riffle with four magazines and one Beretta pistol loaded with eight live 9mm caliber ammunition were recovered from them.
The statement reads: “Police Operatives of the Enugu State Command serving in Igbo-Etiti Division, working with the Neighborhood Watch Group, on June 12, 2024, around 2 a.m., utilized an intelligence report and raided a suspected l IPOB/ESN criminal camp in a forest in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area.
He said: “The criminal elements opened fire on the operatives upon sighting them. However, the operatives returned fire at a superior level, forcing the criminals to escape with varying degrees of gunshot wounds.
“Thereafter, two (2) of the fleeing suspects’ lifeless bodies were discovered and recovered in the forest, along with one AK-47 rifle, four magazines loaded with a total of seventy-five (75) live 7.62 mm calibre ammunition, and one Beretta pistol loaded with eight (8) live .9 mm calibre ammunition.
“Further recovered are one (1) KC Sanya and Honda Today ladies motorcycles, one (1) GTB ATM card, a cash sum of two thousand, six hundred Naira (N2,600.00), and several raw food items. The manhunt for others on the run is ongoing.
He said that preliminary investigations suggest that the group was responsible for numerous heinous crimes in the Nsukka area of Enugu State, including the recent attack and murder of police and other security personnel in the area.
“The Commissioner of Police, Kanayo Uzuegbu, while commending the team for the operational success, called on owners of medical outfits and the public to quickly report individuals sighted with gunshot wounds to the police.
“He further directs Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers and Heads of Tactical Squads to remain steadfast and ensure that they further identify hideouts and hunt down diehard criminal elements in their respective operational jurisdictions,” Ndukwe said.
