The troops, who were on a mission to clear the separatists from their hideouts, were met with resistance as gunmen engaged them in a gun duel.
Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, Director of Army Public Relations, said in a statement on Thursday that the incident occurred along Amaifeke-Akkatta Road in the state's Orlu Local Government Area.
Although he did not specify the time, he stated that a cache of arms and ammunition belonging to members of the dissident group had been captured.
According to the army spokesman, the outlawed IPOB members were forced to flee the scene after being overpowered by the troops.
"Troops discovered the weapons concealed in a black Toyota Camry after successfully surmounting ambushes staged by members of the outlawed dissident group, who, having been overpowered by the gallant troops, abandoned their vehicle and weapons in the heat of battle and fled the scene," according to the statement.
Ten pump-action shotguns, seven locally fabricated guns, one locally fabricated revolver pistol, 80 live cartridges, one Baofeng radio, and a substance suspected to be gun powder were recovered from them.
A sachet of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and a Toyota Camry Saloon car are among the other items. Nwachukwu also thanked the public for their continued support of the military and security forces as they "protect the citizens from the atrocious activities of the outlawed dissident groups, who have annihilated innocent Ndigbo and other Nigerians in their enforcement of an illegal sit-at-home order foisted on the good people of the South-East."
This is despite his request for timely and credible information to support the military's ongoing operations to restore peace and security in the region and other troubled areas of the country.
