Troops of the Nigerian military have killed no fewer than two fighters of the Eastern Security Network, said to be the military wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra.
According to the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, the incident took place on Monday.
Nwachukwu disclosed on Tuesday that the ESN members were killed during a confrontation with a combined team of Nigerian Army, Police, and Department of State Service personnel in the Fuji Junction area of Asaba, Delta State.
He said the team responded to a distress call from residents in the community and on getting there, the ESN members engaged them in a fierce gun battle, adding that due to the superior power of the security agents, the criminals withdrew to their hideout.
The Army spokesman added that the IPOB members were trailed to their camps where five of them were arrested and weapons recovered from them.
He said, “Combined troops of 63 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police and operatives of the Department of State Services have neutralised two IPOB/ESN fighters and arrested five others after a fierce encounter that took place on Monday, July 17, 2023, at the Fuji Junction general area in Asaba, Delta state.
“The encounter followed distress calls that the community was under attack by terrorists, to which the combined troops swiftly responded.”