Controversy trails Nigerian Army operation in Enugu community as Intersociety makes fresh claims

Days after the Nigerian Army announced that it had disrupted an alleged attack by suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network (ESN) in the Imezi Owa community of Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State, rights groups have alleged that innocent villagers were harmed by the operation.

Lieutenant Colonel Olabisi Olalekan Ayeni, Acting Deputy Director Army Public Relations for the 82 Division, issued a statement on 8 May 2026. He said that troops from Sector 1 of Operation UDO KA, working with other security agencies, had been on an intelligence‑driven patrol to Imezi Owa when they thwarted the alleged IPOB/ESN attack.

Ayeni reported that as the troops were advancing on foot, they were fired upon from a building, injuring three personnel. “Despite the attack, troops maintained operational dominance, foiled the attack and secured the general area, while the injured personnel were promptly evacuated. The wounded personnel are currently receiving treatment at a military medical facility,” he said.

A subsequent statement from the Ezeagu Council of Traditional Rulers praised the Army for the operation. In a communique signed by HRH Igwe Emmanuel Anichebe, Chairman of the Council, and HRH Igwe Dr Rapheal Okolo, Secretary of the Council, the council unequivocally condemned the unlawful attack on military personnel in Imezi Owa.

However, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has now claimed that innocent homes were affected by the military operation. The report, jointly released by Intersociety and the South‑East Civil Liberties Organisation (South‑East CLO), alleges that at least ten civilian houses in residential areas were burned to ashes during the operation, and that valuables such as motorcycles, electronics and domestic animals were allegedly looted.

The report further contends that the invasion followed years of tension between local communities and armed Fulani herdsmen accused of occupying forests and farmlands around the Ajali River Valley. It states that the military operation was triggered after local vigilantes were allegedly invited to a meeting by forest guards operating under the Enugu State Government, only to be disarmed by soldiers and accused of collaborating with ESN members.

According to the report, the vigilantes were then forced to guide soldiers into forest areas around Ajali River Valley, where a gun battle reportedly broke out between troops and armed non‑state actors believed to be ESN operatives. The rights organisations insist that the clashes occurred deep inside the forest and not within residential communities.

They allege that after retreating from the forest, soldiers later stormed nearby villages where civilian homes were set ablaze in what they describe as “collective punishment” against residents.

“The shooting incidents took place inside the Ajali River Forest Valley, more than two kilometres away from communal residential areas. Instead of returning to the forest battlefield, the soldiers invaded residential communities and launched attacks that resulted in the burning of homes and displacement of innocent civilians,” the report claims.

Among those allegedly arrested during the operation was a teenage girl identified as Chisom Okafor, said to be between 15 and 17 years old. The report says the teenager was looking after her aged grandmother when soldiers allegedly took her away and labelled her an “IPOB/ESN informant.” Three other young men—Ndubuisi Chikelu, Thank God Chikelu and Chidi Nosike—were also declared missing following the operation.

The groups allege that while Chisom Okafor was later traced to a police detention facility in Enugu, the whereabouts of the three male youths remain unknown. The report also claims that the military operation forced hundreds of young residents to flee their homes for fear of arrest, disappearance or harassment.