The Nigerian Army says it has conducted a joint operation in Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom to dislodge criminals and hoodlums terrorising the area.

According to the Army in a statement on Wednesday said the general security situation in Akwa Ibom state has been very peaceful until recently when the security situation around Essien Udim Local Government Area of the State became tensed occasioned by activities of some hoodlums and criminal elements.

“The miscreants exploited various avenues to acquire weapons to perpetrate their heinous crimes. In the past few weeks, the group has attacked various security agencies which resulted in the loss of lives and carting away of weapons. The last incident led to the killing of some Policemen including a CSP”.

“The hoodlums continued to terrorise law abiding citizens through extortions and infringement on their rights”.

“Consequently a combined team of Military and Security Agencies in the State conducted a clearance operation at Ntak Ikot Akpan in order to flush out the miscreants. The operation was successfully executed and resulted in the dislodgment of the criminals while fleeing hoodlums were neutralised by the Air Component”.

The Army however noted that normalcy has been restored in the area, while the Police personnel have since assumed full control and carrying out normal duties.

“Members of public are advised not to panic but to remain calm and continue to support the security agencies to further consolidate on the successes recorded so far”.