The Nigerian Army has confirmed the death of two of its soldiers and one currently missing as they reportedly engaged in a gun battle with members of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) in Imo State.
According to the statement released by the Army on Saturday, the troops of the 34 Artillery Brigade were returning from routine patrols when they received a distress call of IPOB/ESN attack on Osina Community in Ideator North Local Government Area of Imo State.
In the process of responding to the call, the separatist organisation, ESN, exchanged fire with the Army, while quite a number of the ESN were reportedly neutralized, two of the military men were also killed and their weapons carted away, while one of the men is still missing at the time of this report.
Part of the statement read “On arrival, the troops engaged the “terrorists” with overwhelming firepower, killing some of them, with no figure specific, while adding that the “dissidents withdrew in disarray”.
“Unfortunately, two security agents had been killed in action and one other missing in action and their weapons, an AK 47 Rifle and a Tear Gas Launcher were carted away by the terrorists,” it added.
The statement also revealed that the corpses of the slain soldiers have been recovered while the troops are still going after the fleeing remnant of the ESN and also looking for one of the troops members that is missing.
The Nigerian Army has urged the “labelled” terrorist organisation ESN, which is the armed wing of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to surrender themselves to the nearest troops’ location or get ready to meet their Waterloo as troops of the Brigade has vowed to fish them out in no time.
