The Nigerian Army on Saturday said troops of 6 Division Garrison, Port Harcourt and 29 Battalion on Thursday raided the enclaves of suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra at Agbomchia Forest.

It said the raid was a joint operation between the Nigerian Army, operatives of the Nigerian Police Force, Department of State Service and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.

The Army, in a statement by its Director Army Public Relations, Mohammed Yerima, said seven suspected IPOB members were killed while five were arrested.

The statement titled ‘Troops storm IPOB/ESN terrorists enclave in Agbomchia Forest, Rivers State, neutralise seven, arrest five suspects’ read, “Troops of 6 Division Garrison, Port Harcourt and 29 Battalion in conjunction with operatives of Nigerian Police, DSS, and NSCDC on Thursday conducted a Clearance/Raid Operation at suspected IPOB/ESN enclaves at Agbomchia Forest along Pipeline Road Ogali/Komkom Boundary between Eleme and Oyigbo LGAs of Rivers State.

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“In the firefight that ensued during the Clearance/Raid Operation, seven IPOB/ESN members were neutralised while five suspects arrested.

Various items belonging to the criminals including arms and ammunition were also recovered by the security forces.

“The camp was promptly destroyed while suspects and corpses were handed over to the Police for further actions.

There was no casualty on own troops and other security operatives as they have returned back to base in high morale.

“The Nigerian Army urges members of the public to always avail the troops with accurate and timely information that will help in tracking down and neutralising the so-called unknown gunmen who are terrorising the region.”