Abia State governor Dr Alex Otti has reiterated his administration’s commitment to flush out criminalities in the state, assuring that the battle against insecurity is one he must win.
The governor who stated this on Thursday during the a town hall meeting tagged “Citizens Town Hall Engagement On Strengthening Community Policing in Nigeria” said right from the day of his inauguration he has always made it clear that he was prepared to give everything to keep Abia State safe from criminals and those whose trade threaten the security and peace in the state.
The governor in his opening remarks reminded his audience that upon assumption of office he launched a joint security network codename “Operation Crush” with the mandate to make Abia a safe place for all law abiding citizens and uncomfortable territory for criminals.
Governor Otti informed that his focus on security revolves around the understanding that everything he has planned to do in terms of infrastructure development and welfare of the citizens will amount to nothing if the people are constantly at the mercy of criminals.
He expressed optimism that the events such as this will become more regular in the State to continually evaluate the strategy from multiple lenses, assessing the effectiveness of approach, the economic and social costs and of course, how they impact the rights of the citizens to freedom of association, movement and general pursuit of happiness.
The governor stated thus,”For us in Abia, today’s event will serve two interconnected purposes: one, it will offer stakeholders a chance to interface with each other and reach a consensus on where we need to collaborate more with the leadership of the security formations in our respective communities.
“In the same breadth, we shall also go home today with new knowledge that will sharpen our awareness and give us insights on the danger signs to look out for, how to track suspicious individuals and events, and when to pass information to the security agencies to nip any untoward development in the bud.
“I am also certain that the role of technology in preventing and tracking crimes will form an important part of our discussion here because that is one advantage I believe we should fully exploit to stay one step ahead of the criminals.
“This town-hall meeting is designed mainly to reawaken us to our responsibilities as citizens — as men and women who must do everything within our powers to prevent crime or help the law enforcement agents to bring criminals to justice.
“Just as we announced soon after we took over the reins of governance, there shall be no safe space for any criminal in our State.
“This statement was made with the understanding that we will always have the cooperation of Ndi Abia who customarily abhors crime to get the job done.
“It may now seem like a distant memory but when we assumed office last year, several communities in Umunneochi and Isuikwuato LGAs were firmly under the control of criminal gangs who kidnapped, robbed, raped, maimed and killed our people at will.
“You may wish to recall that the former Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence, Samuel Kanu-Uche, and two other priests were kidnapped in 2022 in Umunneochi while returning from a function.
“Like the men of God, several other victims paid humongous sums to the abductors as ransom. Sadly, many never returned.
“One of the first things we did as a government was to liberate those communities, flushed out the criminals and made the roads, forests and farms safe again.
“After we had dislodged the criminals from their camps, we went the extra mile to set up security posts in the towns and villages to offer effective response to any, and every threat, especially from groups operating from outside our boundaries.
Evaluating his success on security issues since he assumed office he stated that “We have also adequately responded to similar security challenges in other parts of the State over the last one year.
“The Government continues to gather actionable intelligence that has proved very helpful. Let me reassure you that our resolve to make Abia the most peaceful destination in the region remains very firm.”