By Ike Uchechukwu, Calabar
The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) VICTORY has destroyed a hideout allegedly used by suspected militants terrorising coastal communities in Ine Ikoridung, a settlement in Cross River State.
The operation followed intelligence reports that the group had relocated to the area after sustained pressure from security forces.
The Base Information Officer, NNS VICTORY, Lieutenant-Commander Sulaiman Bala, disclosed this in a statement issued in Calabar on Monday.
Bala said no arrests were made during the operation as the suspects fled upon sighting the approaching naval gunboats.
He said the raid was part of ongoing offensive operations against suspected militant groups operating within the Dayspring axis.
“Accordingly, NNS VICTORY patrol gunboats stormed the settlement, cordoned off the area and conducted thorough searches of identified huts where intelligence indicated the militants were residing,” he said.
According to him, troops recovered five empty cartridges, a military camouflage vest, a police camouflage vest, a military pullover and a military jungle hat during the operation.
He added that the troops also recovered a notebook containing records of suspected militant fighters previously arrested and the correctional facilities where they are serving their sentences.
Bala said the identified huts were subsequently destroyed to prevent the criminals from using the settlement as a future hideout.
He explained that the relocation of the suspected militants to the remote coastal community followed sustained military operations that had limited their activities in previously occupied areas.
The Base Information Officer assured that the Navy would continue its operations against criminal elements within the state’s maritime environment.
“The Nigerian Navy Ship VICTORY will continue to sustain maximum pressure on the miscreants until total security is restored to the maritime environment,” he said.
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