There is tension in Abia State as soldiers arrested many residents and assaulted others in what appears to be a revenge act.
This is happening days after gunmen killed five soldiers in Aba, the commercial hub of the state.
Grow your business with us
Recall that, masked gunmen, on Thursday morning, attacked and killed the soldiers in Obikabia Junction in Aba, the commercial hub of the state.
The gunmen, who also burned the soldiers’ patrol truck, were said to be enforcing the sit-at-home order declared by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) across the South-east to mark Biafra Day, which is celebrated annually in the region.
The Nigerian military later vowed to retaliate for the killing of the soldiers by the suspected IPOB members.
A medical doctor, Rose Agwu, accused soldiers in the state of arresting her 15-year-old brother and her sister on Friday.
Ms Agwu, who resides near Obikabia Junction, where the Thursday attack happened, claimed the soldiers broke into her home on Friday morning and arrested her siblings.
“Around 5 a.m. 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,” she said in a series of posts on her X handle.
A video clip that showed some residents being forced into waiting military vans has been circulating on social media.
Besides the van, several other residents, mostly young men, were seen sitting on the ground while some soldiers appeared to be interrogating them.
It is not clear if the young men were later arrested by the soldiers.
When contacted on Saturday night, the spokesperson of the 14 Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Ohafia, Abia State, Innocent Omale, confirmed the arrest of some residents.
Mr. Omale, a lieutenant, however, said those arrested, including Ms Agwu’s siblings, have since been released.
“Everybody that was arrested or picked (by soldiers) yesterday (Friday) has been released,” he said.
Ms Agwu has also confirmed that her siblings have been released.