Five suspected members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and two suspected kidnappers have been killed in Anambra.
Security agencies killed the seven gunmen in Anambra State, south-east Nigeria, during separate operations on Wednesday.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Echeng Echeng, disclosed this on Wednesday during a press conference in Awka, the state capital.
Narrating what led to their death, the police Commissioner said the five suspected IPOB members were killed when joint security operatives accosted them in Akwaihedi, a community in Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra.
Akwaihedi shares boundaries with communities in Imo, another state in the South-east.
Mr Echeng said the hoodlums were heading to Anambra State on a motorcycle for a planned attack before the operatives intercepted them.
“The operatives engaged the assailants (and) neutralised five of the gang members,” he said.
Two rocket launchers, four AK-47 rifles, one automatic pump action, four magazines, eight live ammunition, police berets and charms were among the items recovered from the gunmen, according to the police.
The commissioner said in a separate operation on the same day, police operatives attached to Rapid Response Squad (RRS) Unit, Awkuzu, also killed the two suspected kidnappers while attempting to rescue two kidnap victims in the suspects’ hideout in Ifite, Ogbunike, a community in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State.
A black Lexus SUV and several security camouflages comprising police and military uniforms were the items recovered from the suspects, the police said.
The latest incident comes barely two days after police killed two gunmen along Umusiome Nkpor, a community in Idemili North Local Government Area of the state.
