The Nigerian Army has confirmed that troops of the 34 Brigade, under the 82 Division in Owerri, Imo State, carried out a commando-style raid on the residence of suspected criminal gang leader “Gentle De Yahoo” in Aku, Ihube, Okigwe Local Government Area.
According to the Army, 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,” the Army said.
When his fighters refused to come down from the roof, the officers set the building ablaze.
“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.”
The raid resulted in several casualties among Gentle De Yahoo’s fighters.
“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.
Troops recovered the corpses of two female and two male fighters, but have not yet confirmed if Gentle De Yahoo himself was among those killed.
“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,” the Army said.
Villagers from the community, many of whom have long complained of being terrorized by the gang, confirmed that Gentle’s second‑in‑command was dead.
“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.”
The Army emphasized that despite the uncertainty around Gentle’s fate, the operation significantly weakened his gang.
