Killing of Policemen: Abia to change security strategy, as Otti vows to apprehend perpetrators
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
Abia state governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has hinted that the state government would adopt a new security measure that would help stem the spate of security breaches in the state.
He stated this against the backdrop of an attack on Policemen on duty which led to the death of two of the officers and left others injured.
The Governor, on Saturday, visited families of the slain Policemen to commiserate with them, as well the hospitals where the two injured officers were receiving treatment to give them words of encouragement and vowed that his administration would hunt down the perpetrators of the dastardly act.
Four policemen were involved in the attack at Opobo road axis of Aba last Friday evening which left two policemen dead while two were wounded.
Speaking to journalists after the visits, Governor Otti described the attack as unfortunate.
He regretted that the attack was coming few weeks after a similar incident which resulted in the killing of five soldiers at Obikabia Junction in Aba on May 30, 2024 and hinted that government would evolve a new strategy to deal with security issues in the state, even as he vowed that the perpetrators of the attack would not go scot free.
“It is very unfortunate and we thought that with all what we have done, including rounding up some of the people that were involved in the last attack that this will not happen again, but it happened so quickly. We have met and we have also decided to change strategy.
“We do not want to speculate but like you rightly asked, it is reasonable to suspect that the enemies of the state, particularly those who don’t seem to see any good or want any good for Abia people may be somehow connected with this.
“This is the time to assure the security agencies in the state that the state is behind them and also reassure Abia citizens that the state is equal to the task and that we are not going to let this go away without identifying and bringing to book all those who are directly or remotely involved,” the Governor said.
Governor Otti said he believed that by the time investigations were over and all the intelligence that are being gathered put together, government would know actually where the attacks were coming from.
He stressed that his administration would not succumb to blackmail.
“We believe that something is wrong and our government is not going to succumb to this kind of blackmail and we are going to fish them out wherever they run to.
“It is still early days but like I said, we’ve started picking up some of the people that were suspected to be involved in the last attack on soldiers and this one, we are not going to allow it to die. We are going to follow it through” Dr. Otti promised.
The Governor who was accompanied on the visit by the Inspector General of Police and the state Commissioner of Police, told Abians that the security agencies were intensifying efforts to ensure that people in the state were secured.
“The people know that this government will not rest on its oars and everybody should go about their businesses. We don’t want people to panic, we don’t want people to be discouraged. We are equal to the task,” the Governor said.
