Army arrests 27 IPOB members

The Nigerian Army said on Thursday that its troops on Operation
Mesa have arrested 27 members of the Indigenous People of Biafra
and recovered an AK-47 rifle from one of them, Oliver Onyebunachi,
in Imo State.

According to the military, the IPOB members, who were 23 men and
four women, were apprehended by troops of 144 Battalion, 82
Division, on October 1.

The army noted that the IPOB members had a spiritual leader, Pa
Michael Madumere, a 56-year-old, who hailed from the Ideator South
Local Government Area of Imo State.

The army Operations Media Coordinator, Col. Aminu Iliyasu, in a
statement said the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, had
directed that all army formations and unit commanders sustained
their operational activities nationwide.

Iliyasu said, “One of the suspects was shot in his right leg as
he tried to shoot at own troops. Normalcy has since been restored
in that area as troops continued to maintain surveillance in the
general area.

“The Chief of Army Staff hereby solicits the support of our
citizens in availing the army units and formations nationwide with
timely information that will assist them in ridding the communities
of criminal elements.”