Troops of the Joint Task Force South East, Operation UDO KA, have destroyed a suspected terrorist camp in Anambra State, rescued three kidnapped victims and recovered a cache of weapons during a series of coordinated operations aimed at tackling insecurity in the South-East.
The Nigerian Army disclosed the development in a statement posted on its official X account on Friday, saying the operation was carried out by troops of the 185 Battalion in collaboration with the Anambra Vigilante Group.
According to the Army, the operation began after three persons were kidnapped around the Osakwa General Area in Ihiala Local Government Area. Troops and local vigilantes launched a rescue mission and successfully freed all the victims.
The statement added that on October 1, 2026, troops arrested a suspected kidnapper, identified as Sunday Obi, during a follow-up operation. The suspect reportedly provided information that led security forces to the gang’s hideout at Abator in Ogbaru Local Government Area, across the Isieke waterside.
Acting on the intelligence, the troops crossed the waterways in canoes and stormed the camp. The suspected terrorists fled after a gun battle, reportedly with gunshot wounds, while troops recovered two AK-47 rifles with magazines, three pump-action guns, three locally made Dane guns, 62 rounds of 7.62mm NATO ammunition, 149 rounds of 7.62mm Special ammunition, two cartridges and materials suspected to be for making Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
The Army also recovered a solar generator, power bank, car battery, two motorcycle batteries, two solar panels and two mobile phones believed to have been used to support the group’s operations.
The Nigerian Army said the recovered items would provide useful intelligence to help security agencies dismantle the wider criminal network operating in the area.
It added that “the Nigerian Army, through Operation UDO KA, will sustain coordinated kinetic and intelligence-driven operations to dismantle terrorist enclaves, disrupt their logistics and supply chains and deny criminal elements safe havens across the South East.”
The Army further stated that follow-up operations are ongoing to arrest fleeing suspects, their collaborators and logistics suppliers, while security agencies continue to work with local stakeholders to improve security across the region.
Operation UDO KA is the military’s ongoing counter-terrorism and anti-crime campaign in the South-East, where troops have continued to target armed groups, kidnappers and other criminal elements in a bid to restore peace and protect lives and property.
