By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
Troops of the newly established 15 Brigade Nigerian Army, operating under the Joint Task Force South East, Operation UDO KA, have dismantled three suspected Indigenous People of Biafra/Eastern Security Network, IPOB/ESN, camps and recovered arms and explosives in Anambra State.
The intelligence-led operation was conducted in the early hours of Saturday, 15 August 2026, at Osuakwa, along the boundary between Ihiala and Ogbaru Local Government Areas.
Acting on credible intelligence, troops of 15 Brigade, in conjunction with personnel of the Department of State Services, DSS, and the Agunechemba Vigilante Group, launched a coordinated dawn raid on the identified locations.
The joint force came under hostile fire from the terrorists but responded decisively. Three suspected IPOB/ESN members were neutralised, while all three camps were overrun and destroyed to prevent further use as operational bases.
Troops recovered one FN rifle with 10 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, one pump-action shotgun with five cartridges, 15 sticks of dynamite, four motorcycles, one gas cylinder, three hybrid batteries, two car batteries, three handheld radio chargers, and other logistics believed to have supported the group’s criminal activities.
Further exploitation of the area led to the arrest of one suspected IPOB/ESN member identified as Mr Chijioke, alongside one male and one female suspected accomplices. Six children were also found in their custody.
The Commander, 15 Brigade Nigerian Army, commended the troops, DSS personnel and members of the Agunechemba Vigilante Group for their courage, discipline and outstanding inter-agency cooperation. He described the operation as “another major setback for criminal and terrorist elements seeking to undermine peace and security in the South East.”
The Nigerian Army reassured the public that the 15 Brigade will continue to sustain aggressive intelligence-led operations in collaboration with sister security agencies and local stakeholders to locate, disrupt and dismantle terrorist and criminal networks across Anambra State and the wider South East region.
