No fewer than two fighters of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra have been killed during a joint operation by the Nigerian Army, Police, and Department of State Services in Delta state.

Members of the group were said to have attacked a community in Asaba on Monday.

According to a statement on Tuesday by the Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, security agencies in the area received distress calls from residents in the community and deployed men to the area.

He said the IPOB members engaged the operatives in a fierce gun battle, adding that due to the superior power of the security agents, the criminals withdrew to their hideout.

Onyewa added that the IPOB members were trailed to their camps where five members were arrested and weapons recovered from them

The statement read, “Combined troops of 63 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police and Operatives of the Department of State Services have neutralized two IPOB/ESN fighters and arrested five others after a fierce encounter that took place on Monday, July 17, 2023, at Fuji Junction general area in Asaba, Delta state.

“The encounter followed distress calls that the community was under attack by terrorists, to which the combined troops swiftly responded. The terrorists succumbed to the overwhelming firepower of the troops, after two of their members fell in the firefight that ensued, while the survivors fled to their hideout around the Okpanam River.

“The troops in pursuit of the fleeing criminal elements successfully trailed them to their enclave in a house around the Okpanam River, where they were nabbed. The troops also recovered one AK 47 Rifle, one Pump Action Semi-Automatic Rifle, 15 Live Cartridges, one AK 47 Rifle Magazine, and a Baofeng Radio Receiver.”

He said the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja, lauded the combined troops for their effort, urging them to sustain the synergy.

Onyema implored the public to continue cooperating with security agencies by providing actionable information to support their operations.