Harvesting the gains of Otti’s investment in security tech
– By Eagle Okoro
I remember very vividly that insecurity was one of the major issues that dominated public discourse all through the lame and incompetent administration of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu. Hence, it stood conspicuously in the front burner during the 2023 Governorship Campaign in the state and all the governorship candidates dedicated several pages of their manifestos expressing their concern over the disturbing phenomenon.
They promised to squarely and permanently deal with the albatross but many failed to disclose how they planned to go about their intention to achieve result.
I recall that during a debate organised for all the candidates at the Secretariat of the Mater Dei Cathedral, Umuahia by the Justice, Development and Peace Commission, they were all asked specifically how they intended to fight crime and criminality in the state, which had assumed an alarming proportion.
And while other candidates hid under the cloak that strategies for dealing with insecurity should not be discussed in the public domain, the then Governorship Candidate of the Labour Party, Dr Alex Chioma Otti, told the audience that he planned to leverage the existing technology to fight crime and make Abia unsafe for criminals.
He also promised that he would fully utilise his security vote, when elected, to provide adequate security for the lives, property and investments of all Abia indigenes and non-indigenes alike, irrespective of where they live or work in the state.
So, during his campaign tours of the nooks and crannies of the state, he kept assuring the people that beyond addressing the critical infrastructure needs in education, health and roads, he was genuinely determined and committed to fight insecurity to a standstill, once elected as governor.
Today as governor of Abia, he is walking the talk and giving life to his campaign promise to rout violent crime and criminality from the state with the instrumentality of technology.
For me, it was, therefore, good reminiscence of the campaign promise that I listened with extraordinary joy in my heart as the Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr Danladi Isa, poured encomium lavishly on the governor for his enormous support to security agencies in their fight against criminal elements in the state, providing the command with the needed technology to win the fight against insecurity.
Isa spoke at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Umuahia on Saturday evening, when he presented four young men rescued from the kidnappers’ den by the command’s Tactical Team on Friday.
He said at a joint media briefing with the governor that the victims were kidnapped at gunpoint in Osisioma, near Aba, on March 9 “by unknown gunmen” and taken to their hideout in Osokwa, where they were locked up in a three-bedroom apartment, while demanding for ransom from their families.
The police chief attributed the feat and other successful exploits by the command to the governor’s continued support. He said that the command came to show him the result of his investment in security agencies in Abia, including the Police.
Narrating the episode to the governor, as the Chief Security Officer of the state, and the media, Isa said that the command received a report on March 9 about the kidnap of four young men at approximately 09:30 a.m.
According to him, the victims were driving in their Toyota RAV4 along the New Umuahia Road, Obingwa, when the kidnappers intercepted them, forcing them to stop at gunpoint before abducting them.
He said that the command’s Tactical Team, “using credible intelligence and technology”, provided by the governor, tracked and located the kidnappers’ hideout in Osokwa, Osisioma Ngwa LGA, on March 14.
He also said that upon arrival at the hideout, where the victims were held for five days, the kidnappers engaged the team in a gun battle.
“Six criminals were neutralised due to the tactical team’s superior firepower, and the four victims were rescued unharmed,” he said.
Isa further said that the team recovered two AK-47 rifles, six magazines, and 34 rounds of live ammunition from the criminals.
He also said that efforts were ongoing to apprehend other gang members, who fled with bullet wounds during the operation.
In a remark, Gov. Otti thanked government functionaries, who supported the operation, and commended the police for their bravery, commitment, and use of technology to secure the state.
He praised the CP and his team for rescuing the victims unharmed and promised a handsome reward for the tactical team.
He also pledged to continue to upgrade security technology and doing everything possible to ensure the state remains safe.
“I know that in the near future, we will have a command and control centre in the state capital. We have already made significant progress in its construction.
“I have also instructed that the bungalow in Osokwa, where the kidnappers operated and held their victims, should be completely demolished.
“We will locate the owner of the house and prosecute him,” he said.
The governor also said that the state would no longer tolerate landlords who rent out their property for criminal activities, adding that such landlords are also criminals.
Otti assured residents that Abia would remain safe for everyone who wishes to live or do business.
Giving account of their harrowing experience in the hands of their tormentors, one of the victims told newsmen that they were kidnapped after their friend had been abducted earlier that same day in front of his house.
He said that they were kept captive in one room from where they could hear children’s voices and noise from a construction work in the building, an indication that people lived within.
The victim, whose identity was not disclosed, also said that the kidnappers held them for five days without food.
Of course, this was not the first time such a great feat would be recorded by the present government. It would be recalled that a similar achievement was made by the government, when the police also deployed security technology in arresting the two masterminds behind the kidnap of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Abia State University, Uturu, Prof. Godwin Emezue.
Emezue was kidnapped in the presence of his wife, when he stopped to fetch fuel at a filling station in Umuopara. He regained his freedom after staying one month in captivity and paying ransom to his assailants.
According to the governor, the leader of the gang was picked up at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos while trying to board a flight to Turkey.
He said that the second suspect was later picked up in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, adding that the two had since been returned to Abia to answer for their crimes.
Otti said that the arrest of the suspects was made possible by the efforts of the Operation Crush, a joint security task force, set up by his administration.
There is no gainsaying the fact that with the impressive record of achievements so far made against the men of the underworld in the state, the governor has acquitted himself as daring, fearless and committed to building a safe Abia, where commerce and investments can thrive.
In a similar vein, the state police command, under the watch of the current CP, has further demonstrated that the command has the capacity to make Abia safe for the residents and their investments, when given the right support, motivation and modern crime-fighting equipment and logistics to overrun the ragtag hoodlums.
Furthermore, the huge successes recorded by the security operatives further reinforced the governor’s warning to criminal elements in his inaugural speech at the Umuahia Township Stadium on May 29, 2023.
In that long but engaging speech, he said: “One of the greatest challenges facing the state is ensuring that there is guaranteed security of lives and property.
“The worsening state of insecurity in the state will be addressed from its root. Consequential criminals slide into crime when there is no other available means of livelihood.
“We intend to address this group through the provision of various opportunities that I will be outlining shortly.
“However, I know that there are hard core criminals, who have been used by their godfathers to terrorise the citizens and keep them firmly on the saddle to continue to impoverish the state.
“My simple warning to them is that they must leave the state from today. I must warn all of them and their patrons that starting from today, it is no longer business as usual.
“I promise you that Abia will not be big enough to contain you and me at the same time.
“I declare that I will use the full force of the law to apprehend and punish all those who are intent on threatening law and order in the state.”
With the complete routing of kidnapping, banditry and other violent crimes in the notorious Lokpanta, Isuochi, and Isuikwuato axis of the state in the early days of the present administration, it is obvious that the remnants of the criminals still rearing their ugly heads and tormenting innocent and law-abiding Abia residents are merely the recalciteant ones, who have chosen to dare the governor by defying his warning.
And like the “stubborn fly that refuses to listen to wise counsel”, they are all doomed and definitely headed for the grave because the new Abia will certainly not accommodate them.
We say kudos to the Nigeria Police Force, kudos to the result-driven, focused and pragmatic Gov. Alex Chioma Otti, and kudos to the peace-loving, enterprising and law-abiding Abians. To God be the glory!!!
– Eagle Okoro is a Public Affairs analyst and writes from UMUAHIA