A Nigerian Army soldier attached to Operation Udoka has been killed by suspected fighters of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) after allegedly sneaking out of his duty post to attend a party in Anambra State.
The incident reportedly occurred on the evening of Saturday, May 18, 2025, near the Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Uli, Ihiala Local Government Area.
Military sources disclosed that the soldier left the base without permission to attend an event titled “Ladies’ Jamboree”—a strippers’ party held at a nearby hotel. He was said to have attended the event dressed in his full military camouflage uniform, violating standard operational protocols.
“It was during a tactical operation that it was discovered the soldier was missing. He had sneaked out of the base in uniform. At the party venue, he was accosted and fatally shot by suspected IPOB/ESN fighters,” a military source told The PUNCH on condition of anonymity.
Troops later recovered the soldier’s lifeless body at the scene of the attack, alongside the body of a baby, in a disturbing development that has added to tensions in the region. His service weapon has since been retrieved and secured by the military.
Operation Udoka is a joint military campaign led by the Defence Headquarters to combat insecurity in the South-East, particularly targeting violent separatist activities attributed to IPOB and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
Efforts to reach the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, for official comments were unsuccessful as his phone remained switched off, and messages sent to him went unanswered as of press time.
The killing is the latest in a string of targeted attacks on security personnel in the South-East, where IPOB has been accused of conducting coordinated violence against state forces, disrupting civil order, and enforcing illegal sit-at-home directives.
The Nigerian military has intensified operations across the region in recent months, but sporadic violence continues to pose a challenge to lasting peace and stability.