Aba residents and netizens have raised alarm over indiscriminate arrest of “innocent and harmless” citizens after unknown gunmen killed five soldiers at Obikabia Junction on Thursday, May 30, 2024. Six civilians caught in crossfire also died.
The gunmen, who the military allege are IPOB members were reportedly enforcing a sit-at-home order – in commemoration of Biafran Day. But both IPOB and its leader Nnamdi Kanu had denied any involvement in the dastard killing of the soldiers.
Now the military is accused of aimless, wholesale arrest in the area, “withouth any intelligence”.
A Nigerian medical doctor, Rose Agwu, has cried out for help on Social Media after soldiers invaded her home in Aba, Abia State and arrested her teenage brother and sister.
Agwu, who resides near Obikabia Junction , where the soldiers were killed, said the soldiers broke into her home and took away her siblings, leaving only her 72-year-old father.
She revealed this in a series of posts on her X handle on Friday morning, saying the her home was invaded around 5.00 am on Friday.
She said her siblings were taken without any information on their whereabouts or the reason for their arrest.
She wrote, “Around 5 am in the morning, the Nigerian Army invaded my house, broke the gate and our door, and took my 15-year-old brother and my sister, who had just come home, away, leaving only my aged father.
“Till now, they have not been released. We are still trying to locate them. Please help us ask the Nigerian Army the logical reason behind this and how they can account for all the people they took and their plans for them.
“I don’t want to hear stories, please. This is how people go missing and get killed. Please release my siblings, they know nothing about the shooting or unknown gunmen, please.”
This comes after the military vowed a brutal reprisal for the five soldiers killed at an Army checkpoint in the Okulabia area, Aba.
Agwu, who noted that June 1 was her sister’s birthday, lamented that her siblings were still in custody.
She stressed that her siblings’ rights were being abused by their unlawful detention.
She said, “At exactly this time 5 am yesterday while I was at the hospital running my Accident and Emergency shift and saving lives, the Nigerian army broke into my home, forced my 72-year-old father to sit in an unhealthy position while they took away my 15-year-old brother and sister.
“Till now my siblings have not been returned home. My family has been in panic and living in fear. The doors and gates were broken, no arrest warrant was shown, no official statement as to why they took my minor sibling or sister. This is not how justice is served!
“Children are experiencing something traumatic even to a grown adult. How will my siblings recover from this assault and abuse of their human rights.
“Today, June 1, is my sister’s birthday and she’s in Army custody for a crime she knows nothing about. My sister is unproblematic. My family has no relation to the crisis going on in the country. We are law-abiding citizens and mind our business but here we are.”
She called on the state governor, Alex Otti, to come to her family’s rescue and save her siblings.
“It’s my sister’s birthday today! A very traumatic birthday indeed. She’s being held by the Nigerian army who, without intelligence information, moved around arresting innocent law-abiding citizens living around where the attack on soldiers happened,” she added.
Like Agwu, many residents near Obikabia Junction in the Aba area have gone online to raise the alarm after soldiers allegedly raided their homes and picked up young people.
A tweep, CleverNation, who tweets as #clevernation23, said his friend was taken away by soldiers who invaded his hotel room.
#clevernation23 wrote, “They took my friend who came to Aba to buy goods on Monday but had to lodge in a hotel. The military invaded the hotel and carried every occupant away.”
The indiscriminate arrests of innocent young people have sparked outrage online, as Nigerians condemned the invasion of homes and the arrest of innocent residents.
On X.com, a tweep, Samuel Ajayi, who tweets as #Samdgreat01, condemned the arrests as lawlessness.
#Samdgreat01 wrote, “You see, this is my problem with how the Nigerian Army works. Terrorists and criminals attacked your men, and you go around without intelligence detaining innocent citizens. The real terrorists are still moving freely and can wreak havoc again. Families of innocent people will grieve while terrorists strike again. The cycle continues. Lawlessness.
“Terrorists attacked you and went their way. You went around picking up people in the area indiscriminately, even as young as 15, to an unknown location. You’ll torture them, perhaps kill some; you’ve done it before. Real terrorists are still intact in their location. Conduct a proper investigation and gather intelligence to go after them. You’re not so different from the terrorists.”
Another tweep, Ike God, tweeting as #Ikegod, called for a proper investigation to bring the real perpetrators to justice instead of unlawfully arresting innocent citizens.
He wrote, “I call on Alex Otti to interface with the @HQNigerianArmy Chief, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, to facilitate the immediate and unconditional release of all innocent and hapless Abia teenagers and youths abducted by rogue elements within the Nigerian Army on a reprisal attack.
“The investigation to fish out and prosecute the daredevil UGM or MOU who attacked the Army checkpoint in Obikabia Junction, Obingwa, Aba, is a matter for the IGP Kayode Egbetokun-led @PoliceNG. The Nigerian Army must quit flexing muscles with armless and harmless Nigerian citizens and go after real terrorists wreaking havoc across Nigeria. Dear HE @alexottiofr, kindly look into the abduction of hapless Abia teenagers, raised by #RoseAgwu254246.”
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