The Presidency has warned Nigerians against hasty response to “cruel” videos of the alleged killing of non-indigenes by the Eastern Security Network, ESN, and the proscribed terrorist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.
The warning was given in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.
The Presidency also warned members of the public against sharing such videos in order to prevent causing chaos and violence.
The statement reads in full:
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.
In the issuance of his very strong condemnation of these “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,” President Muhammadu Buhari warns the perpetrators of these acts to expect tough response from the security forces.
