By Anyi Kings
The Biafra Post | September 24, 2026
The Directorate of State (DOS) of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has rejected the Imo State Police Command’s claim that security operatives recently discovered and dismantled an alleged Eastern Security Network (ESN) camp at Ubah Agwa in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State.
In a public briefing dated September 22, 2026, and signed by Dr. C. Okadigbo, DOS Press Secretary, the organisation described the police account as a “recycled propaganda script” and questioned the evidence presented by the authorities.
The dispute follows a police statement issued in September concerning investigations into the August 21 attack on Agwa Divisional Police Headquarters. According to the police, two suspects were arrested and officers subsequently raided an alleged hideout at Ubah Agwa, where they reported recovering an AK-47 rifle, two magazines containing 52 rounds of ammunition, a grenade, military and police uniforms, Biafra flags and ESN-marked clothing, among other items.
DOS challenges evidence
In its statement, the DOS said it has consistently maintained that there is no ESN camp in Agwa and questioned whether the recovered materials independently establish the existence of an organised camp.
The statement specifically questioned the circumstances surrounding the alleged exchange of gunfire reported by police, asking why there was no publicly presented footage, photographs of the scene, bullet-impact evidence or other independently verifiable material.
The DOS also questioned the police account concerning Chiemela, popularly known as “Disaster.” Police said he was killed during the August 21 incident, while the DOS questioned why subsequent investigations and arrests were still being linked to the alleged camp if the individual described as a kingpin had already been killed.
Dispute over independent verification
Another major issue raised by the DOS was the absence, according to its statement, of independent observers at the location.
The organisation said no community leader, journalist or independent monitor was taken to the site and questioned the absence of publicly available drone footage or body-camera footage.
The police account, however, states that officers entered an abandoned, uncompleted bungalow after suspects allegedly opened fire and fled. Police said the search produced the weapons, ammunition, uniforms and other exhibits.
Arrests also questioned
The DOS further disputed the portrayal of Jones Okechukwu Anyim, 29, and Happiness Uche, 32, as IPOB/ESN members, arguing that the two are residents of the Agwa area and should not be labelled members of the organisation without substantiated evidence.
Police said Anyim was arrested on September 15 following information obtained from Uche and that both arrests were connected to investigations into the August attack and other alleged crimes in the area.
The police have said the arrested suspect would be charged after investigations are completed, while efforts to locate other fleeing suspects were continuing.
Wider controversy
The latest disagreement highlights the continuing contest between security agencies and IPOB representatives over the attribution of armed violence in parts of the South-East.
While the police maintain that the Ubah Agwa location was an alleged IPOB/ESN hideout and have cited recovered weapons and other exhibits as evidence, the DOS disputes both the existence of the camp and the interpretation of the recovered materials.
As of the latest reports reviewed, the competing accounts have not been independently reconciled through publicly available evidence from the location.
The DOS concluded its September 22 statement by maintaining that there was no ESN camp in Agwa, while calling on the Nigerian government to explain what it described as unanswered questions surrounding the operation.
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