The Nigerian Army has confirmed that troops of the 34 Brigade, operating under the 82 Division in Owerri, Imo State, carried out a commando-style raid on the residence of a suspected criminal gang leader known as “Gentle De Yahoo,” in Aku, Ihube, Okigwe Local Government Area.

Reports circulating on social media and across news platforms on Tuesday indicated that the troops captured Gentle De Yahoo, a feared commander of the so-called “Unknown Gunmen” gang, which has been linked to violent attacks in Imo State and other parts of the South-East.

However, when SaharaReporters requested details of the incident, the Nigerian Army said that while troops raided Gentle’s house and killed his second-in-command (two IC), two female and two male fighters, the military has yet to confirm if Gentle himself was among those killed during the operation.

“Since the summary execution of some youths who were part of his gang, many people have been worried that why should we have this kind of individual on the loose taking lives and generally doing whatever pleased him.

“In the past, efforts have been made to capture him and bring him to justice this time around, the Nigerian Army, 34 Brigade based in Owerri, Imo State, under 82 Division, stormed his community in Aku, Ihube, a village in Okigwe Local Government Area that shares boundary with Abia and Anambra states,” the Army said.

According to the Army, the operation was carefully executed on foot to avoid detection.

“The soldiers went on foot and trekked for close to four hours. They didn’t want to use armoured vehicles like they did in the past. It was more like a commando mission,” the Army explained.

The Army said that during the operation, the troops surrounded Gentle’s building but came under fire from his fighters, who fired at the soldiers from the roof.

“They surrounded his house, went in and Gentle’s boys were firing from the ceiling and our troops returned fire.

“When they saw that the guys who were firing from the roof were not going to come down, the army had no choice but to set the building ablaze,” the Army said.

The raid led to multiple casualties among Gentle De Yahoo’s fighters.

“Once the building was set ablaze, two females and three males jumped out of the building and attempted to escape but the army opened fire but there were still three persons left on the roof who refused to come out.

“One of them was his two IC, who eventually jumped out and scaled the wall but the troops fired on him and they killed his two IC.

“The two females who were with them were also killed, as well as two males,” the Army said.

The Army said the troops recovered the corpses of two female and two male fighters, but could not yet confirm if one of the male fighters killed was the dreaded Gentle De Yahoo or not.

“At this time, what I can report is that the soldiers recovered those two corpses of the male fighters but they cannot confirm yet whether Gentle De Yahoo was one of the persons who were confirmed killed in the incident.

“But the villagers who have been under ceaseless harassment from him confirmed that his two IC (second-in-command) was dead, and they are still trying to confirm whether he is among the two other guys killed,” the Army clarified.

The Army stressed that while confirmation of Gentle De Yahoo’s death was still pending, the operation significantly weakened his gang.

“We just have to wait and get confirmation. We are in the process of confirming whether he is among those killed but there is no escape for him,” the Army said.

“We cannot say categorically at this time that he was killed or he found a way to escape. In the fullness of time, the true situation will be confirmed, and we will tell Nigerians the exact situation and confirm whether Gentle De Yahoo has been killed or not.”