Gunmen, on Thursday morning, attacked and killed five soldiers in Obikabia Junction in Aba, the commercial hub of the Abia State.
President Bola Tinubu has vowed that his administration would "come down heavily" on those responsible for the killing of soldiers in Abia State, south-east Nigeria.
Mr Tinubu disclosed this in a statement which he signed on Saturday.
The killing
PREMIUM TIMES reported how masked gunmen, on Thursday morning, attacked and killed five soldiers in Obikabia Junction in Aba, the commercial hub of the state.
The gunmen, who also burnt the soldiers' patrol truck, were said to be enforcing the sit-at-home order declared by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) across the South-east to mark their Biafra Day, which is celebrated annually in the region.
The Nigerian military would later vow to retaliate against the killing of the soldiers by the suspected IPOB members.
IPOB is a group seeking to carve out a sovereign state of Biafra from the South-east and some parts of the South-south of Nigeria.
'We will come down heavily on the attackers.'
In the statement, which he also posted on his X handle, Mr Tinubu noted that the latest attack occurred months after a similar incident happened in Okuama Community in Delta State.
This newspaper reported how 17 soldiers on a peacekeeping mission were ambushed and killed by suspected residents of the Okuama Community in March.
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The president said the attacks on Nigerian security forces were "unwarranted, barbaric, evil and condemnable", adding that the situation would not be condoned or tolerated in the country.
"The federal government will come down heavily against those who have made it a habit to attack the officers and men of our armed forces needlessly," Mr Tinubu said.
"They (security forces) surely do not deserve the mindless attacks by unruly elements in our society.
"On no account should anyone, under any guise, have the audacity to kill agents of state," he stated.
'Calling for sit-at-home treasonable'
Mr Tinubu ordered security agencies to track down killers of the soldiers and to also fish out those ordering sit-at-home in the South-east.
"Their actions are nothing short of treason," he said of people issuing the illegal orders.
The president said the fact that the Nigerian security forces were exercising "necessary restraints" when attacked should not be mistaken for weakness.
"I want to make it clear that the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the armed forces have the capacity to crush violent non-state actors, making our communities unsafe," he said.
"We are working to build a peaceful and harmonious society, but nobody should be under any illusion that the government will not act appropriately when the lives of our officers and men are wantonly taken."
Mr Tinubu commiserated with the families of the slain soldiers as well as the leadership of the Nigerian army over the incident.
"I urge other men and women on peacekeeping duty not to be discouraged by the unfortunate incident in Aba," he said.
