By Bernice Eke
Horrible insecurity happening in the camp of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militia group, Eastern Security Network (ESN), where human bodies were roasted and used to make soup in Udah, Orsu local government in Imo State have been discovered by joint operatives of the various Nigerian security outfits comprising the military, police and Department of State Security (DSS).
During the raid, one of the rescued kidnap victims narrated how she and four other ladies were kidnapped and locked up in a room where they were brutally tortured.
She said the commander of the group had wanted to rape her before gunshots scared him away on the day of the raid by the security personnel.
The victim said they asked her to join them in killing people but she declined that she couldn’t kill her fellow human for anything.
Narrating what she saw in the IPOB camp, she said:
“Yesterday, they killed one army man and kidnapped some men which they also killed. They showed us human heads, that if we tell the government anything about this place, they are going to cut off our heads.
“They beat us, they even roast human beings. They are many, I can not even count, both boys, girls, ladies and kids, I cannot even explain,” she said.
About 30 IPOB members were arrested while a traditional ruler who was kidnapped in the Okigwe local government area, Acho Ndukwe, of the Ihube autonomous community, was also released during the raid.
Ndukwe narrated that they were two of them who were traditional rulers kidnapped with two other young boys but that the other monarch was killed by the IPOB men.
“They came to our Okigwe local government at night and picked two of the traditional rulers and two other young boys and took us to that place. Unfortunately, one of the traditional rulers is no more and by God’s grace here I am. I want to thank the governor, His Excellency (Hope Uzodinma) for prompt action and the gallant security operators who came timely to rescue us.
Briefing newsmen in Owerri, the state Director of the Department of State Security (DSS), Wilcox Idaminabo, said they were stunned by what they saw in the camp.
“It was a joint security operation comprising the military, police and the DSS. We stormed the kidnappers’ hideout in a community in Anambra State and Orsu in Imo State.
“The community has been deserted and nobody is living there. The boys carved a large area of land and that is a brand of insurgency, nobody is residing there, it is just a ghost town.
“In the course of the operation, the security forces were able to rescue Eze Acho, and we discovered a lot of decapitated bodies. Surprisingly, in the 21st century, we noticed that people still practice cannibalism here because we saw human flesh being roasted. It was an eyesore.
“We recovered a lot of vehicles, saw a lot of dead bodies. What they do is kidnap and kill some of them and roast them. Of course, they engaged the security agencies but we overpowered them and made a lot of arrests”, the DSS boss stated.
Reacting to the arrests, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma commended the security agencies for their work.
Meanwhile, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has said those arrested were not its members.
“The general public should understand that those behind the orgy of kidnapping and barbaric killings in Imo State have no link whatsoever with the ESN inaugurated by our leader in December 2020.”
Neptune Prime
