Rose Agwu, a Nigerian medical practitioner, has called for help after soldiers allegedly invaded her home in Abia State and arrested her 15-year-old brother and sister.
Agwu, who lives near Obikabia Junction in the Aba part of the state, said the soldiers burst into her home and seized her siblings, leaving just her 72-year-old father at around 5 a.m. on Friday.
She announced this in a series of posts on her X account on Friday morning. According to Agwu, her siblings were abducted without any knowledge regarding their whereabouts or the basis for their detention.
She stated, “Around 5 am in the morning, the Nigerian Army invaded my house, broke the gate and our door, and took my 15-year-old brother and my sister, who had just come home, away, leaving only my aged father.
“Till now, they have not been released. We are still trying to locate them. Please help us ask the Nigerian Army the logical reason behind this and how they can account for all the people they took and their plans for them.
“I don’t want to hear stories, please. This is how people go missing and get killed. Please release my siblings; they know nothing about the shooting or unknown gunmen.”
This incident occurred after five soldiers were murdered at an Army roadblock in the Aba district of the state on Thursday.
Following the attack, the Nigerian military swore that the perpetrators would not go free. After 24 hours, Agwu, who noticed that June 1 was her sister’s birthday, bemoaned that her siblings remained in custody.
She emphasised that her siblings’ rights were being violated by their wrongful detention by the soldiers.
She wrote, “At exactly this time, 5 a.m. yesterday, while I was at the hospital running my accident and emergency shift and saving lives, the Nigerian army broke into my home and forced my 72-year-old father to sit in an unhealthy position while they took away my 15-year-old brother and sister.
“Till now, my siblings have not returned home. My family has been in panic and living in fear. The doors and gates were broken, no arrest warrant was shown, and there was no official statement as to why they took my minor sibling or sister. This is not how justice is served!
“Children are experiencing something traumatic, even for a grown adult. How will my siblings recover from this assault and abuse of their human rights?
“Today, June 1, is my sister’s birthday, and she’s in Army custody for a crime she knows nothing about. My sister is unproblematic. My family has no relation to the crisis going on in the country. We are law-abiding citizens and mind our business, but here we are.”
She pleaded with the state governor, Alex Otti, to come to her family’s rescue and save her siblings.
“It’s my sister’s birthday today! A very traumatic birthday, indeed. She’s being held by the Nigerian army, which, without intelligence information, moved around arresting innocent law-abiding citizens living around where the attack on soldiers happened,” she stated.
Many locals near Obikabia Junction in the Aba area, including Agwu, have taken to social media to express their outrage after soldiers allegedly stormed their homes and arrested young people.
