ABDUCTION: FEMALE OFFICER NOT YET RESCUED, SEARCH STILL ONGOING - NIGERIAN ARMY

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The female officer who was kidnapped on Monday in Aku-Okigwe, Imo state, has not been rescued, according to reports from the Nigerian Army.

This information was revealed in a statement released by the Nigerian Army on Friday, December 30 in Abuja and signed by Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, Director of Army Public Relations.

Onyema said,”The attention of the Nigerian Army (NA) has been drawn to some publications circulating in the social media insinuating the rescue of Lieutenant PP Johnson, a female officer who was abducted on Monday 26 December 2022 while visiting her grandmother in Aku-Okigwe in Imo state, shortly after completion of her Cadet training and subsequent commissioning as a Lieutenant into the Nigerian Army.

“A video footage of her abduction had emerged in the social media where her abductors claimed her abduction was in line with their fight for Biafra against the Nigerian State. It is instructive that the officer’s circumstance as a woman and a Nigerian citizen of South Eastern extraction did not dissuade her abductors from dehumanizing her in their mindless attempt to commit atrocities under the guise of fighting for Biafra. 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 added,”The NA wishes to state that the information making the rounds is unsubstantiated as the officer is yet to be released or rescued from her abductors. Likewise, the video footage being circulated and associated with the rescue claim is an old video of the arrest of a suspect earlier effected by troops.

“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 NA.”

The Army Spokesperson emphasised that the Nigerian Army would stop at nothing to save the officer and apprehend those responsible.