The police also suffered heavy casualties when some groups of IPOB/ESN laid ambush on their vehicles while the police personnel were returning from the raid.
It was learnt that the bandits threw petrol bombs and Improvised Explosives Devices (I.E.Ds) at the police vehicles, causing heavy casualties.
Credible information by the Imo Command’s intelligence unit revealed that some bandits suspected to be IPOB/ESN terror groups were seen mobilising to attack police formations and government installations from their camp located at Akata in Oru East LGA of Imo State.
The Police spokesman CSP Michael Abattam, who disclosed these in a statement, said on approaching the camp, the police teams were attacked by the terror groups.
According to him, on their way back unknown to police teams, the bandits reinforced and regrouped, using palm tree logs to block the entire exit paths in the bush.
“It was at the fourth blockade that the police teams came under heavy attack while removing the fourth palm tree log used in blocking the exit path.”