There has been mass jubilation in the various communities Orsu, Orlu and environ following the dislodgement of hoodlums terrorizing the area making life difficult for the residents most of who have fled to neighboring towns to seek refuge.
Some residents who spoke to our correspondent expressed delight that the hoodlums who unleashed mayhem on them by perpetrating all kinds criminal activities including kidnapping, arson, stealing, extra-judicial killing, rape, in addition to dabbling into land disputes, where parties use them to settle scores.
They commended the troops comprising the Army, Navy, Air force, the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Department of State Service (DSS) for dislodging the hoodlums who they said are criminals and not members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB nor the Eastern Security Network (ESN) as speculated in different quarters.
The residents whose excitement knew no bounds, urged the combined team of security agencies to sustain the tempo and ensure that absolute normalcy returns to enable them resuscitate their businesses that have been comatose, go back to their farms and also encourage those who fled for safety to come back home.
Recall, that the Commander, Joint Task Force, South East, Operation Udo Ka, Major General Hassan Dada, while addressing newsmen at Eke Utitu market in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State, over the weekend, disclosed that the taskforce, comprising troops of the Nigeria army, Navy, Air Force, as well as personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps raided the supreme headquarters of IPOB at Mother Valley in Orsu Council Area of Imo State
“The commander said the troops cleared and liberated Ihiteukwa, Eke Ututu, and Ihittenansa towns, all in Imo, as well as Orsumoghu and Lilu towns in Ihiala and Ekwusigo LGAs of Anambra.
He said that the headquarters, which served as the last IPOB stronghold, is located in the Mother Valley and spans the Orsu and Ihiala LGAs of Imo and Anambra, respectively.
“It is about 5,000 feet below sea level,” Dada disclosed”.
He noted that the well hidden location in the forest gave the hoodlums good cover from air surveillance and served as their control center and military council headquarters.
“He also said that during the raid, the last of which occurred on Thursday, March 7, the gallant troops encountered, detonated, and recovered many Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and various types of obstacles, which were cleared by the determined troops.
He further said the troops also came in contact with the terrorists, subdued them with superior firepower, and neutralised many of them, while others with varying degrees of gunshot wounds fled into surrounding bushes.
“In addition to many weapons, equipment, IEDs and stolen vehicles recovered over the last three weeks, items recovered in the Mother Valley include three G3 rifles, nine automatic pump action rifles, seven double barrel guns, two locally-made pistols, two rocket-propelled grenade bombs, two AK 47 magazines, and one G3 magazine.
“Others were 26 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 16 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, 72 Pump Action Cartridges, one chainsaw, one laptop, one CCTV DVR, 26 CCTV cameras, 17 Baofeng radios with batteries, and 10 without batteries and their chargers.
“Also recovered were six handheld IEDs, 26 Android phones, 25 ordinary phones, one inverter, one SIM card registration machine, four POS machines, three motorcycle batteries for igniting IEDs, two trumpets, two Biafra flags, 20 ESN certificates, two diaries containing details of ammunition and food supplies, and two pairs of Biafra Liberation Army uniforms.
“The joint troops also destroyed about 50 tents in the valley housing the Supreme Headquarters, IPOB/ESN command and control centre, Buteuzor’s hideout and residence, offices, their logistics base, temples, and shrines used for occultic practices, among many other items,” he said.
Dada commended the Imo and Anambra people for their cooperation with security agencies while requesting that they report any strange faces in their communities to Operation Udo Ka by dialing the emergency line 193 and pressing option 2 from their mobile phones.
He enjoined the leaders of all liberated communities to return to their ancestral homes and deploy community efforts to ensure that all criminal elements who are not from the communities are not allowed to return to desecrate their homelands.
He thanked Gov. Hope Uzodinma of Imo, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, for their support, advice, and guidance throughout the operation.
He assured that the troops will continue to provide all security support to affected communities within the ambit of the law.
However,what can best be described as a display of civil-military relations, the Force Commander presented gift items, including bags of rice and cartons of noodles, to women of the Eke Ututu market.
