Troops of the 34 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Obinze, Owerri, destroyed the den of notorious terrorists led by one Monday Ogu popularly called ‘B44’.
The troops also exhumed corpses believed to be the terrorist’s victims, buried in shallow graves near the den, at Ezioha Community in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the operation, the Brigade Commander, Brig.-Gen. Usman Lawal said the exercise was carried out by his gallant officers following intelligence reports.
He said the camp, strategically located on the bank of the Njaba River overlapped three council areas of Imo, namely Njaba, Oru East and Mbaitoli where the criminals carried out attacks.
He listed the attacks to include kidnapping for ransom, robbery of kidnap victims’ valuables and burning of their vehicles as well as killing of the victims most of whom were buried in shallow graves.
The Commander added that the terrorists also vandalised vehicles belonging to their victims and sell off the vehicles’ parts while burning the vehicles beyond recognition.
He called on residents of the state to furnish security agencies with useful information that will lead to the location and decimation of terrorists and other criminal elements in their domain.
“Our aim is to clear camps of criminal, irredentist elements and restore peace to the communities so that the people can return to their communities and resume normal life.
“Following the clearance of the terrorists’ hideout by our gallant troops, we have exhumed the dead bodies of the victims for a thorough forensic assessment so that where possible, we can trace them to their families and hand them over for a befitting burial,“ he stated.
The Commander hailed his troops for their gallantry in the face of security challenges and urged them never to rest on their oars until peace is restored to the affected communities and Imo at large.
Brig Gen. Lawal, however, thanked the General Officer Commanding 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Hassan Dada; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, and the Imo Governor, Hope Uzodimma for their unflinching moral and logistics support which has created the enabling environment for the activities of the brigade.
He assured the Imo people of his continued commitment to the fight against terrorism to ensure lasting peace, security and socioeconomic development in the state and it’s environ.
