Gunmen have abducted a Nigerian female soldier identified simply as P.P. Johnson while visiting her grandmother for Christmas celebration in Aku, a community in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State.
Penpushing reports that a video clip circulating on various WhatsApp groups showed how the female officer was being tortured by her abductors in a thick forest, while one of the gunmen was heard threatening to kill her for being a member of the Nigerian army.
The victim was stripped with her hands and legs tied by the gunmen, who also forced her to sit on the ground in the forest, while the abductors were heard warning the youths from the region against joining the military and other security agencies.
“This is a wonderful information to the whole of our people that are still in the military, that’s how you people will be dying one after the other. Here it’s happening live in Enugu, today being 26th of December 2022. It’s happening live and direct. A lieutenant, two stars in the military (has been abducted),” the gunmen said.
“We will kill you and use you as a sacrifice. We will keep your head in front of a shrine,” the gunman was heard telling the female soldier in Igbo language. We will fight against our enemies. For those of you that still remain in service, we will take you one after the other.This is unknown gunmen. We have nothing to do with IPOB. What we are after is Biafra,” he added.
Penpushing further reports that as at the time of filing this report it was not clear if the female soldier had being killed following the threat by the gunmen, just as the army authorities debunked speculation that the victim had been rescued
The Army spokesperson, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement on Friday, confirmed abduction of the female soldier, adding that she was seized by the gunmen shortly after completing her cadet training and subsequent commissioning as a lieutenant into the army.
Penpushing also reports that, Nwachukwu said the report suggesting that the abducted soldier had been rescued by security agencies was untrue, explaining that as at the time of this report the female soldier was still in captivity
The military authorities in the statement said a video clip circulating and associated with the rescue claim was an old video of the arrest of a suspect earlier carried out by troops, and vowed that the will leave no stone unturned in its effort to rescue the office and bring the abductors to book..
‘The Nigeria army wishes to state that the information making the rounds is unsubstantiated as the officer is yet to be released or rescued from her abductors. Much as we appreciate the concern and goodwill of the general public for her safe rescue, we also wish to note that the information on the rescue of the officer did not emanate from the Nigerian army’, Nwachukwu said.
Penpushing reports that, Nwachukwu accused the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militant wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN), of being behind the abduction of the female soldier, stressing that it was instructive that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) members were not dissuaded from dehumanising the female soldier despite being a woman and a Nigerian citizen of South-eastern extraction.
The Brigadier General said the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) members carry out atrocities under the guise of fighting for Biafra” in the region, stating that this evidently is another pointer to the myriads of crimes being unleashed by the two illegal bodies on Ndigbo, the very people they claim to be fighting for their emancipation.
‘This evidently is another pointer to the myriads of crimes being unleashed by IPOB/ESN on Ndigbo, the very people they claim to be fighting for their emancipation. It should therefore be crystal clear to those who are still in doubt of the true status of these groups, that IPOB/ESN are terrorists, masquerading as freedom fighters and do not deserve the support of anyone, particularly the good people of South-east Nigeria,” he said.
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