SaharaReporters exclusively reported how the Nigerian military conducted air raids in Akpawfu community in the name of clamping down on members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), forcing many residents to flee the area.
Residents of Akpawfu community in the Nkanu East local government area of Enugu state are gradually returning to their homes after a joint Nigerian military operation that turned the community into a ghost town.
SaharaReporters exclusively reported how the Nigerian military conducted air raids in Akpawfu community in the name of clamping down on members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), forcing many residents to flee the area.
Around mid-October 2022, the community came under heavy bombardments as land and air troops stormed the community in search of secret camps and hideouts of members of IPOB, and its militant arm Eastern Security Network (ESN).
SaharaReporters had reported that the raid which started on October 13, came to a head on Saturday, October 15, with military helicopters dropping explosives in forests within Ajeme Akpawfu village where the ESN, believably used as its camp.
Security sources had revealed that some gunmen terrorising parts of Nkanu land and Enugu city were believed to be hiding in the forest.
It was learnt that the hoodlums in the remote forests also engaged the troops in a shootout but other details of how the raid affected residents were still sketchy as of press time.
Some houses were burnt in the process.
IPOB is a separatist group seeking the restoration of the Republic of Biafra. The group has however been proscribed by the government, which has also designated it as a terrorist organisation.
The area was raided in 2021 where many hoodlums were reportedly neutralised and their camps destroyed, but the area has remained a major source of security threat in the state.
Following the latest incident, residents of the community fled to nearby communities and the state capital.
A resident told SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity that he had to relocate temporarily to Enugu city to ensure the safety of his family following the heavy shootings.
He said, “As I am speaking with you, people of neighbouring communities of Oruku and Akpugo said they are hearing deafening sounds of explosives and sporadic gunshots and so many people have relocated from these communities for fear of being caught down in the operation. In fact, Akpawfu is not safe right now.
“The entire Ajeme Akawfu community has been under fire since Thursday and everybody has been running helter-skelter for safety. Truly speaking, there are many hoodlums claiming to be IPOB members and we have been living in fear. They kidnap, rape and hold people hostage for ransoms in the thick forests and they are also responsible for some of the armed attacks on innocent people around Nkanu land.”
The traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Christopher Nnamani, who confirmed the military operation in the area, told SaharaReporters that he could not ascertain the number of casualties, as he had also fled the community.
He said that members of his family including his wife and children left the community the previous day to a safe place, adding that many other residents must have also fled their homes.
However, when SaharaReporters reached out to him on Thursday, to find out the current situation, he said many people have returned to the community.
"After the incident, people came back except those who don't want to return now. The security operatives came that time shooting sporadically, went inside the bush and after the air raid, they went back. However, no person has been reported to me to be missing.
"Although some people haven't returned home, probably they didn't want to come back now but not because there is any problem again. The soldiers and other security operatives have gone."
He, however, called on other residents of the community yet to return to come back as “peace has returned”.