The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu has condemned in strongest term, the attack on a military check point at Obikabia Junction in Ogbor Hill area of Aba in Abia State.
The attack on Thursday by yet-to-be identified assailants reportedly left four soldiers dead.
Kalu, in a statement by his Chief of Staff, Levinus Nwabughiogu, described the killing of the soldiers at the time they were doing their lawful duty as “unwarranted, outrageous, unjust, cruel and absolutely condemnable.”
The lawmaker representing Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State said that Aba people who are better known for their enterprising spirit and technical skills cannot be hoodwinked to think that locking up their shops and closing their businesses to stay at home was in their best interest.
Reminding the people that Aba is the commercial nerve centre of the South East, and as such plays host to people from all walks of life, Kalu urged them not to trade their known hospitality with violence, saying that it is alien to the culture of Ndi Igbo.
He added that while efforts are ongoing to quell the rising wave of insecurity and restore peace in the whole of the South East region through a non-kinetic approach championed by Peace In South East (PISE-P), it was unnecessary to engage in acts capable of truncating the gains already made.
The Deputy Speaker appealed to the people to support the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu which has vested unusual interest in the development of the South East, noting that doing otherwise will affect the fortunes of the region.
Calling for peace amongst the people and the Nigerian Armed Forces, Kalu also commiserated with the families of the victims while also assuring the military hierarchy of legislative interventions to help unravel the masterminds of the attack and ensure that the unhealthy development does not reoccur in the future.