President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the killing of about 12 people, including a pregnant woman and her four children in Anambra State, will attract a ‘tough response’ from the military.
The killings were attributed to the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the paramilitary wing of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
The spokesperson of the pro-Biafra separatist movement, Emma Powerful, however, denied the group’s responsibility in an interview with The Punch.
Reacting through his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, President Buhari described the incident as ‘deeply distressing’.
While noting that the security agencies were studying viral videos of the incident, Shehu cautioned against any knee-jerk reactions to them.
“We call on all citizens to avoid hasty steps or conclusions that could exacerbate the situation, and on the contrary keep to a line of conduct that will help the law to take its proper course.
“The Presidency also cautions the public against the indiscriminate sharing of posts on social media so as to deny vested interests who seek to divide us and create disturbance the chance to do so.
“In the issuance of his very strong condemnation of these ‘wild, barbarous and wanton killings of innocent people’ in the South-East as well as the other parts of the country, which he described as ‘deeply distressing’, President Muhammadu Buhari warns the perpetrators of these acts to expect tough response from the security forces,” he said.