No fewer than four soldiers were reportedly killed on Thursday by gunmen in Abia state.
The gunmen, who were said to have been enforcing the sit-at-home directive of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), opened fire on a military checkpoint in Obikabia junction in Aba.
Videos showing the aftermath of the attack have gone viral on social media.
The heavily armed men, clad in black outfits, were seen sporadically firing shots at the junction.
Military patrol vehicles were also set on fire by the gunmen.
Maureen Chinaka, police spokesperson in Abia, did not respond to calls or text messages on the development.
Onyema Nwachukwu, army spokesperson, did not also take calls or respond to text messages.
Last week, IPOB declared May 30 as a sit-at-home in the south-east to honour “our heroes and heroines” who died in the civil war between 1967 and 1970.
“Every Biafran in Biafra territory is expected to sit at home on this day and reflect on the danger of the forced unity called Nigeria that have taken millions of lives of Biafrans,” Emma Powerful, IPOB spokesperson, said in a statement.
The police had asked residents in the south-east states to ignore IPOB’s directive.
However, streets and major roads in most parts of the south-east were deserted on Thursday.
There was no vehicular movement in many parts of the region as residents complied with the sit-at-home order.
‘TOTALLY CONDEMNABLE’
Ben Kalu, the deputy speaker of the house of representatives, has “strongly condemned” the killing of the soldiers.
“The killing of these military personnel, who were carrying out their lawful duties, was unwarranted, outrageous, cruel, and totally condemnable,” Kalu wrote on X, the microblogging site.
“Let me remind us that Aba is the commercial nerve center of the Southeast and therefore, a home for people from all walks of life.
“The people of Aba are known for their enterprising spirit and technical skills. They cannot be hoodwinked into thinking that locking up their shops, closing their businesses, and staying at home is in their best interest.”
Kalu, who represents Bende federal constituency in Abia, urged residents of the state “not to trade their known hospitality for violence, as it is alien to the culture of Ndi Igbo”.
Speaking on behalf of the south-east governors, Hope Uzodimma, governor of Imo, described the attack as “unfortunate”.
“On behalf of my brother governors in the south-east governors’ forum, I condemn the incident and loss of the lives of soldiers who were on their duty posts. Without any provocation, they were attacked by the men of the underworld,” Uzodimma said.
“The unfortunate thing is that it is going to act as a major setback to the peace process being pursued by the governors from the zone with the federal government, security agencies and other critical stakeholders on how best to resolve the problem of security in the region.”
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