‘Native doctor’ who allegedly prepares charms for IPOB/ESN arrested in Anambra – Police
The suspect had been identified as one of the native doctors who prepares criminal charms for the group and uses his shrine for initiation ceremonies and meeting points for the criminals
Four suspected members of the Eastern SecurityNNetwork (ESN), a militant wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), have been arrested in Anambra State by combined security operatives.
The police spokesperson in the state, Tochukwu Ikenga, stated that the security operatives intercepted the suspects in Ufuma, Orumba North Local Government Area of the state.
The joint operation, led by police operatives, aimed to prevent planned attacks on security agents and innocent citizens by the group.
One of the suspects is a “native doctor” who allegedly prepared charms for the ESN members. The “native doctor,” identified as 32-year-old Maduabuchi Nwafor, also known as Omenkpo, is from the Ufuma Community.
According to the police spokesperson, the suspect had been identified as one of the native doctors who prepares criminal charms for the group and uses his shrine for initiation ceremonies and meeting points for the criminals.
One of the suspects, who is already assisting the police with information, confessed to being one of the gunmen dispatched by the group to enforce an illegal sit-at-home on 30 May 2024.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Nnaghe Itam, has ordered a thorough investigation to identify the separatist group’s hideouts in the state, accusing the group of seeking to “destabilize development” in the state.
The police commissioner assured residents of Anambra State that the police will continue to serve them “selflessly,” appealing to residents to support the police with information to aid investigations while assuring that they will “jealously protect the sources of its information.”
IPOB, a group seeking to carve out an independent state of Biafra from south-east and some parts of south-south Nigeria, has been linked to some deadly attacks in the two regions, although the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.
