Eleven people, including five soldiers and six civilians, were killed in a surprise attack by gunmen in southeastern Nigeria’s Abia state, the military reported on Friday. This latest violence adds to the ongoing unrest in the region grappling with separatist agitations.
The assailants targeted a military checkpoint at Obikabia junction in Obingwa local government area on Thursday, according to a statement issued by defense spokesperson Major-General Edward Buba. While no group has claimed responsibility, the military suspects the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist movement seeking an independent state for the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria.
“The military will respond fiercely,” Major-General Buba declared. “We will exert overwhelming pressure on the group to ensure their complete defeat.”
The attack in Abia state underscores the growing security challenges facing the Nigerian government. The country is already grappling with Islamist insurgency in the northeast, sectarian clashes in central regions, and rampant kidnappings in the northwest.
IPOB’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, a British citizen arrested in Kenya in 2021, is currently on trial in Nigeria facing terrorism charges. The group’s agitation for an independent Biafra echoes a dark chapter in Nigerian history. Over a million people, mainly civilians, perished during the three-year Biafran War (1967-1970) when the region attempted to secede.
