Nigerian Army Gives Update On Female Officer Abducted In Imo

The Nigerian Army has released a statement to clarify reports about one Lieutenant PP Johnson; a female soldier abducted on Monday in Imo State.

A disturbing video had surfaced on the internet earlier, showing Johnson in a pitied state in the hand of her captors.

An underground voice in the video was heard threatening that they (the unknown gunmen) would go after other serving military officers in the Southern part of the country, kidnap and kill them one after another.

Hours after, another video clip went viral on the internet with the photo of the kidnapped army officer attached. It was claimed that the officer was rescued, and the faces shown in the video were that of her captors.

However, against what was reported earlier, the army said on Friday that Lt Johnson had not been rescued yet.

The statement explained that Johnson was newly commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army (NA). It said she was kidnapped while visiting her grandmother in Aku-Okigwe in Imo State.

According to the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, the viral video claiming to be captors of Lt Johnson was an old event.

Nwachukwu said: “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”.

The army spokesman lamented that Johnson’s abductors still dehumanised the officer despite coming from the South-Eastern part of the country. He also chided them for claiming to be freedom fighters, describing members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as terrorists.

“This evidently is another pointer to the myriads of crimes being unleashed by IPOB/ESN on Ndigbo, the very people (who) 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.

“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,” he added.

Nwachukwu assured in the statement that the Nigerian Army will leave no stone unturned in its effort to rescue the officer and bring the perpetrators to book.

The army spokesman urged the general public to provide credible and reliable information that could lead to her safe rescue and arrest of the perpetrators.