Nigeria's President Tinubu says the killing of soldiers in Abia State, south-east Nigeria, by a banned group on Thursday was ''babaric'' and ''evil'' and the military will act ''decisively'' in response.
Five soldiers were attacked by masked gunmen enforcing a sit-at-home order declared by the outlawed group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to mark Biafra Day across the southeast of the country.
''I have received yet another disheartening news story about the killing of five soldiers by suspected militants of the proscribed terrorist organisation, IPOB. These unwarranted barbaric and evil acts are condemnable and should never be condoned or tolerated in our country.'' Tinubu said in a statement posted on X.
Biafra Day is declared on May 30 every year by the IPOB to commemorate the people who died as a result of a three-year civil war, which broke out on May 30, 1967, after Igbo army officers declared an independent Biafra state.
Surprise attack
The Nigerian government has banned IPOB as a “terrorist” organisation and accused it of stoking ethnic tensions.
The Nigerian military has said that separatists also killed at least 11 civilians in the “surprise” assault.
''The federal government will come down heavily against those who have made it a habit to needlessly attack the officers and men of our armed forces,'' Tinubu added.
A spokesperson for the group, Emma Powerful, has however disassociated IPOB from this recent act, saying the killers were ''criminal elements'' that do not represent IPOB.
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