Group condemns killings, tasks Otti to intensify security
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has warned criminals not to plunge Aba, the commercial city of Abia State into a killing field.
Kalu, in a statement, yesterday, in Abuja, condemned the incessant attacks on security personnel and civilians by criminals in Aba, Abia State. His condemnation followed the recent attack on some operatives of the state Police command attached to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) along Ngwa Road by Mosque Junction, who were on patrol, by a gang of assailants in which an Inspector of police and three civilians were killed.
Kalu, representing Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State, described the attack as an act of cowardice, barbaric, insensitive, unjust and cruel. He warned against plunging the commercial city into chaos, insisting that the killings must be brought to an end.
Commiserating with the state government, the state Police Command and the families of the victims, Kalu charged the police hierarchy to double their efforts to effectively tackle crime and criminality in the state.
HOWEVER, a pro-democracy and rights advocacy group, yesterday, condemned the killing of a Police Inspector, Shehu Oyibo, and others in Aba. The Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD) in a reaction by its Executive Director, Nnanna Nelson Nwafor, reiterated its call for intensification of security in the state.
Nwafor said: “What is happening in Abia State, especially in Aba, calls for a review of the approach in security service provision. With this rate of killings, no one needs to be told that the state government and security agencies need to build a working synergy to come up with a solution to this menace, which is capable of turning investors away from Aba, regardless of the ongoing infrastructure provision in roads and energy.
“There is a need to study the trends and dynamics of these killings, especially to trace its source. The motivation behind these killings, be it political or not, has to be uncovered.” The organisation called on the state government to work towards ending the killings before they spread to other parts of the state.
