Police officers in Imo state have arrested a manufacturer of Improvised Explosive Devices used in attacking Police Stations and Government facilities in the state.
The arrest was made on April 20th following the raid of an alleged hideout of the Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB/Eastern Security Network (ESN).
A statement by CSP Michael Abattam, spokesperson of the state police command, says the police operatives received an intelligence report and immediately mobilised to the hideout of the group located at Uba Umuaka in Njaba LGA of Imo State and raided the camp.
“In the course of the raid, one Simeon Onigbo ‘m’ age 50 years was arrested. On the spot interrogation, the suspect admitted being the manufacturer of most of the Improvised Explosive Devices ( I.E.Ds) used in attacking police stations in the State and outside the State.
“On searching the criminal hideouts items recovered includes the following:
“One already prepared Improvised Explosive Devices, Fifty eight pieces of Cannon Steel Pipe, Two Chisels, One Monday Hammer one and a half bag of Potassium Nitrate, thirty Pounds Weight of Sulphur, Fourty Pounds Weight of dry Sand, Ten Pounds Weight of Red Sand, Thirty Pounds Weight of Gun Powder, Half Bag of Charcoal, Thirty Electronic Motorcycle Batteries and Seven Lengths of 8 millimeters Iron Rods. Meanwhile, the Command’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit (EOD) has taken over the recovered bomb for technical analysis and subsequently for possible detonation,” he said.
Abattam added that investigation is ongoing and that the suspect has made useful statement about other members of his gangs outside the state who patronise him. Operatives of the Command are not relenting and all efforts are on top gear to arrest the named suspects.
