Police arrest two, recover arms in Imo

OWERRI — The Imo State Police Command has arrested two suspected terrorists, dislodged an alleged terrorist hideout and recovered an AK-47 rifle, hand grenade, ammunition, uniforms and other exhibits.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, saying the operation followed investigations into the foiled attack on Agwa Police Division on August 21, 2026, and other violent crimes in Oguta Local Government Area.

Okoye said a suspected terrorist kingpin, Chiemela, also known as Disaster, was neutralised during the foiled attack, adding that subsequent investigations led to the arrest of suspected accomplices and the dislodgement of an alleged IPOB/ESN camp at Ubah Agwa, Oguta LGA.

He said police operatives arrested Jones Okechukwu Anyim, 29, of Umuokijo Mgbala Agwa, Oguta LGA, on September 15, 2026, in connection with the alleged crimes.

According to him, Anyim’s arrest followed information and confessions allegedly obtained from Happiness Uche, 32, of Ubah Agwa, Oguta LGA.

“Following the arrest, police operatives, in collaboration with the Divisional Police Officer of Agwa Police Division and his team, proceeded to the suspected terrorist hideout at Ubah Agwa, Oguta LGA.

“On sighting police operatives, the hoodlums opened fire but were swiftly overpowered by the superior firepower of the police, forcing them to flee,” Okoye said.

He added that some of the fleeing suspects were believed to have sustained gunshot injuries.

The police spokesperson said a search of an abandoned, uncompleted bungalow at the location led to the recovery of an AK-47 rifle without a visible identification number and two AK-47 magazines loaded with 52 rounds of live ammunition.

Other items recovered, according to the police, included four military uniforms, five police uniforms bearing name tags, three Biafra flags, six Biafra-regalia uniforms, three ESN-marked uniforms and four ESN-marked berets.

The command also recovered a hand grenade, various ATM cards allegedly belonging to different victims, various denominations of currency bearing Biafran inscriptions, foreign currencies, enlarged photographs of an unidentified person and objects suspected to be ritual materials.

Okoye said the suspected hideout had been dislodged and secured, while efforts were ongoing to track and arrest the fleeing suspects.

He added that the arrested suspects would be charged to court upon completion of investigations.

“Further developments will be communicated as the investigation progresses,” he said.