Troops Killed IPOB Leader, Foiled N1.9bn Oil Theft In April — DHQ
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Thursday said troops arrested a wanted gunrunner, killed a top Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, and rescued 173 kidnapped victims in April 2025.
Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, during a briefing on military operations in Abuja, said troops arrested a five-man kidnapping syndicate in Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.
He identified the suspects as Hassan Mohammed, Saleh Sani, Idi Yusuf, Adamu Danmai, and Hassan Bello.
He said, “The Nigerian troops have arrested a wanted gunrunner and kidnap kingpin terrorising Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau, and Kaduna States.”
According to Kangye, the troops eliminated numerous members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), including one of their alleged top commanders, Nkwachi Eze, also known as Onowu, who had been on the military’s wanted list.
He said Eze coordinated several attacks and kidnappings across the South-East geopolitical zone.
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The general revealed that in April, troops rescued 173 kidnapped hostages, arrested 430 suspected oil thieves and other criminal elements, and received the surrender of over 204 terrorists and their family members.
He reported that troops under Operation DELTA SAFE thwarted oil theft worth more than “N1.9bn” in one week alone.
Recovered products include “1,009,733 litres of stolen crude oil, 304,811 litres of illegally refined AGO, 3,480 litres of DPK, 19,875 litres of PMS, and 1,600 litres of engine oil.
Additionally, he said, “troops discovered and destroyed 351 crude oil cooking ovens, 418 dugout pits, 30 boats, 9 speedboats, 160 storage tanks, 721 drums, and 95 illegal refining sites”.
Kangye listed recovered items to include “pumping machines, drilling equipment, tricycles, motorcycles, mobile phones, and 42 vehicles”.
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He added that troops also seized large quantities of arms, including automatic weapons, RPG tubes, machine guns, locally fabricated firearms, and improvised explosive devices, along with live cartridges and assorted ammunition.