The Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who made this known in a statement issued on Friday in Awka, the state capital, said four suspected insurgents were killed and a kidnapped victim rescued.
The Anambra State Police Command has said that its operatives, in a joint operation with the Anambra State Vigilante Group (AVG), Agunechemba, dislodged a suspected secessionist/terrorist camp in Awa, Orumba North Local Government Area of the state.
The Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who made this known in a statement issued on Friday in Awka, the state capital, said four suspected insurgents were killed and a kidnapped victim rescued.
Ikenga stated that the operation was conducted in the early hours of Thursday, August 21, 2025, by Rapid Response Squad operatives, Awkuzu, in collaboration with vigilante forces.
The police spokesperson said the joint team stormed the camp following credible intelligence and engaged the armed suspects in a fierce gun battle that lasted for more than 15 hours.
“During the operation that lasted for more than 15 hours, the operatives successfully dislodged the insurgents, rescued a victim who had earlier been kidnapped and held hostage in the camp,” Ikenga stated.
“Despite the payment of a ransom of N20,000,000 by the victim’s family, the hoodlums aborted his release until he was eventually freed by the Joint Security Team.”
Ikenga also confirmed, “In the fierce gun battle that ensued, four of the criminal elements were neutralised.”
He said that items recovered from the camp include two pump-action guns, a fabricated AK-47 rifle, a K2 assault rifle, a locally made hunter’s gun, three locally made Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), a radio transmission box, two gas cylinders, cable wires, three bags of rice, five mobile phones, and sleeping materials.
The team also recovered vehicles, including a black Lexus RX 350 SUV, four Toyota Camry cars with different registration numbers, and other personal items such as a driver’s license, National Identity Card, and tarpaulins used as shelter.
He said the Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, assured residents that the Command would sustain its onslaught against criminal gangs in the state.
Ikenga also noted that the CP assured that extensive operations are ongoing in the area to track down and arrest other fleeing suspects as well as destroy other criminal camps in the state.
In recent months, security operatives in Anambra State have repeatedly stormed criminal hideouts across the state, rescuing kidnapped victims and recovering arms.
In July 2025, police operatives in collaboration with local vigilantes reportedly dislodged another camp in Ihiala Local Government Area, where three suspected gunmen were killed and several vehicles recovered.
Earlier in May, a similar joint operation reportedly led to the rescue of two abducted persons and the recovery of assault rifles and ammunition.
Authorities have repeatedly blamed the proliferation of such camps for kidnappings, attacks on security formations, and violent enforcement of illegal sit-at-home orders in the state.
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