Presidency condemns killing of woman, four children in Anambra, warns against ‘retaliatory violence’

By Akinwande Soji-Ojo

Following the viral video of a woman, simply identified as Fatima, and her four children, who were allegedly murdered in cold blood over the weekend by the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the militant arm of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Presidency has warned against “any knee-jerk reactions, panic, disruption of lives and livelihoods, or even retaliatory violence.”

In a gory video shared on social media, the pregnant woman was seen with her four children in the pool of their own blood at Isulo, Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Reacting to the incident, the Presidency, in a statement signed on Wednesday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said it is investigating the viral video of the alleged killings of non-indigenes by ESN and IPOB.

“The Presidency wishes to caution against any knee-jerk reactions, the creation of panic, disruption of lives and livelihoods, or even retaliatory violence following the viral videos of the alleged killings of non-indigenes by the Eastern Security Network (ESN) and its mother terrorist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

“While expert agencies are now verifying the factuality and veracity of the claims that accompany the horrid pictures being circulated, 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,” the statement read in part.

According to the statement, President Muhammadu Buhari strongly condemned the “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.”

It added that Buhari warned the perpetrators of “these acts to expect tough response from the security forces.”