By OBINNA UNAEZE

The Anambra Joint Security Force (JSF) says it has neutralised two suspected gunmen and also detained a suspected member of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The spokesman for the state Police Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement issued in Awka on Tuesday.

Ikenga stated that the security operatives achieved the feat in separate operations in different parts of the state.

“The Anambra Police Command, under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, continues to record major breakthroughs in its relentless efforts to rid the state of criminal elements.

“In a series of coordinated operations across the state, police operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, in the early hours of July 15, caught one Gospel Nneto (OZ), male, aged 31, a notorious leader of a proscribed armed separatist group.

“In another breakthrough, on the evening of July 14, police operatives from Nteje Division, responding to an attack by two armed suspects, engaged the assailants in a gun duel.

“The operatives neutralised the hoodlums and recovered one pump-action gun, one jackknife (dagger), and other incriminating items,” the statement added.

It further stated that the Divisional Police Officers in Nimo and Nteje led another operation with the police operatives and local vigilance members and rescued three alleged kidnap victims held by suspected gunmen in the area.

It added that the operatives recovered one pump-action gun and one jackknife (dagger) from the suspects.

Ikenga further disclosed that a joint security team, comprising police operatives from Nimo Division and local vigilance members, acting on credible intelligence, searched the forest between Oraukwu and Nimo Communities on the evening of July 15.

“This led to the successful rescue of two female kidnap victims.

“The victims will be reunited with their families, after necessary medical and psychological evaluations,” Ikenga stated.

He also stated that during interrogation, Nneto confessed to being an IPOB photographer, operating from a camp, known as “Mother Valley,” located in Orsumohu-Orsu axis.

“He is currently undergoing further interrogation as discreet investigations continue to uncover his criminal network,” Ikenga added.

He further stated that efforts were ongoing to track down other fleeing members of the criminal syndicates involved in the incidents.

He assured the public that the command remained resolute in its mission to ensure the safety and security of residents and visitors to the state. (NAN)