The Nigerian Army has arrested a deserted army lance corporal, Nwagwu Chiwendu, during his father’s burial for allegedly being responsible for training and recruiting people into the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
According to SaharaReporters, military sources said that Nwagwu(13NA/70/9974) who deserted the army and joined ESN since January 2021, was arrested over the weekend during the burial of his father in Mbaise, Imo State.
He was said to be the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB’s militant arm main trainer in weapon handling and rose to become its deputy commander in Imo State within few months.
Upon his arrest, the suspect allegedly confessed killing a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Gulak.
Gulak, a former aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, was murdered by a group of armed men on May 30, 2021, during a visit to Imo State.
Nwagwu was reportedly trailed from his hotel room to the spot where he was killed around Umueze Obiangwu in Ngor-Okpala LGA, close to the Sam Mbakwe Airport Road in Owerri.
“IPOB/ESN Deputy Commander for Imo State; 13NA/70/9974 Lcpl Nwagwu Chiwendu, a deserter of the Nigerian Army has been arrested. This soldier deserted the army and joined ESN since January 2021. He was their main trainer in weapon handling and rose to be the second-in-command to Temple who is now the leader of the group in Imo State.
“While in the army, he served in Operation Hadin Kai and thus has operational experience. He was arrested during the burial of his father at Mbaise. He confessed to killing former presidential aide, Gulak, and confirmed that his camp was responsible for the kidnapping the two expatriates along Owerri-Okigwe Road and the killing of two police inspectors escorting them.
“They are also the ones that killed soldiers in the same location and the burning of military Hilux vehicle last week. They equally participated in the attack on INEC office in Owerri. We have handed him over to the police,” a military source told SaharaReporters.
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