Decomposing Body Of Missing Police Officer Recovered From Shallow Grave After Police Raided Suspected ESN Camp In Enugu

The decomposing corpse of a police officer identified as Okpanachi Johnson who was declared missing in July has been recovered after men of the Enugu state police command raided a suspected IPOB/ESN camp in a forest at Agu-Ibeje in Enugu-Ezike community of Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area on August 11 and 12.

A statement released on Tuesday by DSP Daniel Ndukwe, spokesperson of the state police command says the hoodlums, on sighting the Operatives, engaged them in a gun duel, which led to the neutralization of one of them while several others escaped with varying degrees of fatal gunshot wounds, due to the superior firepower of the Operatives.

Ndukwe said the operation led to the discovery and exhumation from a shallow grave in the camp, the corpse of their male victim identified as Okpanachi Johnson, a Police Officer serving in Igbo-Eze North Police Division of the Command, who had gone missing on July 30 with all effort made to trace his whereabouts proving abortive.

He added that items recovered from the camp include twelve (12) firearms, including one AR-K2 Assault, six (6) Pump Action guns, one (1) locally-made Berretta-like pistol and five (5) locally-fabricated double-barreled guns; ninety-eight (98) live cartridges; two (2) Machetes, one (1) Digger, one (1) Battle axe and one (1) Hacksaw; five (5) motor vehicles, including three (3) Toyota Sienna minivans, one (1) Honda Pilot Jeep and one (1) Hiace (Hummer) bus loaded with assorted Ankara fabrics, all reported to have been snatched from their owners at different times within the area by the hoodlums; twenty (20) different brands of motorcycles with their plate numbers removed; one (1) Police bullet-proof vest; one (1) pair of Police Camouflage uniform; one (1) pair of Military camouflage uniform with a cap and Military singlet.

He mentioned that other items recovered from them include one (1) piece of red-black-green coloured clothing identified as Biafra flag and another five (5) pieces of masquerade-like attires of the said flag colours; one (1) HP laptop with its bag; twenty two (22) different brands of mobile phones; six (6) different brands of Mp3 players; one (1) Canon camera, Six (6) torchlights, Three (3) rolls of cello-tapes; one (1) air pumping machine; one (1) small yellow-coloured generating set; fifteen (15) fabric armless and five (5) plastic chairs; a set of musical equipment, including band set, piano, guiter and speakers, the hoodlums are alleged to have stolen after invading a church in the area; seven (7) school bags; one (1) Camp bed and twenty (21) pieces of tablespoons.