Governor Alex Otti of Abia State
Crime reduction: Otti tasks security agencies, traditional rulers
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
Abia State governor, His Excellency, Dr. Alex Otti, has directed security agencies operating in the state to stem the rising spate of criminal activities in certain parts of the state by dealing decisively with criminal elements.
Otti who expressed worry over the resurgence of sundry crimes in the state, also called on Traditional Rulers, Presidents-General of Town Unions and Landlords to partner with the state Government to ensure that their domains were crime free.
The Governor who spoke in Umuahia through his Special Adviser on Strategic Communication, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed that it has come to the knowledge of the State Government and Security Agencies, the rising spate of criminal activities in certain parts of the state.
Kanu said the criminal elements engage in crimes such as illegal collection of levies, phone snatching, “one-chance” operations with keke, particularly in Aba and Umuahia, as well as kidnapping for ransom.
At the weekend, a Camry belonging to the Vanguard Newspapers Correspondent in Abia State, Comrade Steve Oko, was stolen from where he parked it along Abia Tower on the Enugu-Aba Expressway to attend a burial ceremony at Ogbodiukwu, lending credence to the increasing incidence of car theft in Umuahia metropolis. However, the vehicle was recovered by Sunday evening, thanks to the efforts of security agencies and journalists who escalated the car theft.
Prior to the car theft, a Public Affairs Analyst, Joseph Ejindu, was abducted by kidnappers posing as motorists who picked him and were supposed to drop him, also at the Express Tower, but sped past the area and brandished their guns when they had raised the alarm and herded the victims into the bush between Abia and Okigwe in Imo State.
Security alerts abound, warning commuters in Aba and Umuahia to go to properly certified motor parks to board vehicles for intra- and intercity shuttles, to escape being kidnapped by hoodlums who parade as commercial motorists.
However, Otti has insisted that despite the ugly development, security was one of the cardinal programmes of his administration, vowing that he was determined to secure the lives and properties of Abians.
“To this end, the Governor has directed all security agencies operating in Abia state to deal decisively with those criminal elements who create unnecessary fear and panic among the citizenry. Such criminal elements constitute unnecessary cogs in the wheel of progress of Abia state. A hard time awaits all such deviants with the arrival of a new Commissioner of Police, Ken Onwuemelie, to the state,” Kanu said.
The Governor’s aide added that “in line with his campaign promises, His Excellency, Dr Alex Otti, is poised to create job opportunities for our teeming youth through funding for small and medium scale businesses and investment in Private – Sector- led investments in industries.”
“Securing our environment from criminals is a task for every Abian,” he said, urging Abians to remain eternally vigilant, provide information and cooperate with the security agencies to flush out criminals, describing such roles as “the patriotic duty of all Abians.”
“A secured Abia is possible,” he counselled.
