Security operatives destroy bomb factory, recover explosives

A joint security team has destroyed a bomb factory in Isseke Community, Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria’s South-east.

The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, said the factory was destroyed on Saturday when the joint security team raided a criminal camp in the community.

The police spokesperson said the criminal camp belonged to several secessionist groups, but did not mention names.

He said the joint security team comprisesld operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, personnel of the Nigeria Army and vigilante members.

“During the operation, a local bomb factory was destroyed, while assorted locally made improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were recovered and demobilised,“ he said.

“The criminal camp is one of the last strongholds of the secessionist group that was impregnable for over two years which the hoodlums used to wreak havoc in the state.”

Mr Ikenga narrated that one of the IEDs planted around the camp exploded during the operation by the joint team and destroyed part of the road in the area.

“The IED acted as a shield to prevent the joint forces from accessing the facility. Meanwhile, no life was lost during the operation,” he said.

The police spokesperson said the joint security team had sustained “operational security dominance and advancement” to fully reclaim the area from the criminals.

Not the first time

This is not the first time security operatives would destroy a bomb factory and recover explosives in Anambra State which has been witnessing increased attacks in recent times.

In December 2024 for instance, a joint security team recovered 19 unexploded improvised explosive devices in Nimo, a community in Njikoka Local Government Area of the state.

A similar feat was achieved in January this year when the joint team killed five gunmen and recovered undetonated bombs in Ufuma, a community in Orumba North Local Government Area of the state.

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The latest operation by the joint team in the Isseke Community occurred barely 48 hours after gunmen killed four members of a family in the community.

The Nigerian government has repeatedly accused the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the South-east.

But the group has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.

IPOB is a group leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the South-east and some parts of the South-south Nigeria.