Nigerian army deploys aircraft, gun trucks in search of Kanu's Eastern Security network camp

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The Nigerian Army has deployed combat helicopters, gun trucks and soldiers to search some forests in the South-East states where the Eastern Security Network, recently launched by Nnamdi Kanu, is suspected to be camping.

SaharaReporters learnt that the military search had been ongoing for days, and has no time frame, as the army was acting on "orders from above."

From the drones and hidden cameras believed to be installed by the ESN, a video captured the Nigerian Army helicopters and their vehicles and soldiers searching for the camp of the ESN to make arrests.

Kanu, a leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, on December 12, launched the ESN, saying the regional security outfit, just like Amotekun in the South-West, would help tackle crime.

"The Nigerian Army that is supposed to fight Boko Haram were seen everywhere searching for the camp of Eastern Security Network team. But they forgot they are dealing with sophisticated men. There are cameras and drones everywhere watching them," an official told Saharareporters.

"If the Nigerian Armed Forces attack the ESN, the people of Southern Kaduna, the Middle Belt, and the South-West must use that opportunity to flush out the Fulanis in their region. The Nigerian Army will disintegrate, and all will be free," another aggrieved official added.

Two days after Kanu launched the ESN, the Yoruba's socio-cultural group, Afenifere, lent its support, noting that Nigeria must embrace regional policing as the only remedy to insecurity. 

The Afenifere National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, in an interview with SaharaReporters, had stated this, adding that the distorted federal police could no longer secure the country; hence the establishment of regional security outfits to protect lives and property.

He said, "It is seen that the central policing in Nigeria has collapsed, and the regional policing is not a new thing in this country. And, I tell you, we are back to the era of regional policing. 

"The security challenges have gone beyond what the Nigeria police can handle, and since we have had regional policing before, we are back into the era again." 

When asked if this is commendable and needed, he said, "Kanu is doing what is good for his region." 

The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen Sagir Musa, could not be reached for comments on the deployment of the aircraft.