Police operatives in Ebonyi State have arrested six suspected members of the Proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and recovered five locally made pistols with 12 live ammunition.
Police spokesperson in the state, Loveth Odah, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Mrs Odah revealed that the suspects were arrested during operations to disperse hoodlums enforcing the sit-at-home order by IPOB on Monday.
She explained that the operatives were deployed after a distress call alerted the command that some hoodlums who had barricaded Ogbaga road were attacking people and setting vehicles ablaze.
She said: “The hoodlums on sighting the police opened fire.
“In the exchange of gun battle that ensued two members of the gang were fatally wounded while others escaped with bullet wounds into the nearby bush.”
According to her, the police neutralized three suspected armed robbers, recovered three expended cartridges, a jack knife, an axe, a cutlass and some charms from them.
A Toyota Picnic was set ablaze by the gang including five motorcycles of different brands.
“Innocent citizens were attacked because they refused to obey the ‘sit-at-home’ directive of the IPOB.
“The traumatised victims are currently responding to treatment at Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital.”
Mrs Odah added that two IPOB suspects on a surveillance mission were intercepted in front of the police headquarters in the state.
One locally made double barrel shotgun with four cartridges was recovered from them,” Mrs Odah said.
The spokeswoman revealed that one other suspect was killed after the police and other security agencies engaged the gang on the Ikwo/Abakaliki expressway in Ikwo Local Government Area of the state.
She added that the other members escaped with bullet wounds.
“Frantic effort is ongoing to arrest the fleeing suspects,” Mrs Odah concluded.