The Abia State Government has taken a bold step against criminal elements operating in parts of the state by launching Operation Crush and donating 20 Toyota vans to various security agencies in the state.
Handing over the vehicles to security agencies, Governor Otti declared that no inch of Abia would be ceded to criminals, as he warned that his government would not negotiate with criminals.
Otti, who charged security agencies to identify and crush criminals threatening the peace of the state, affirmed that Operation Crush will be a coordinated security watch involving various security agencies.
The governor, condemning the recent attack against his Commissioner for Trade, Commerce, and Industry, Chimezie Ukaegbu, during which two policemen were killed, said such attacks would not be tolerated in the State.
According to him, Operation Crush would respond to security alerts from any part of the state, just as he warned that any person found harbouring criminals would be arrested and prosecuted.
Speaking earlier, the Special Adviser to the Abia State Governor on Security, Commodore Macdonald Uba (retd), said the initiative was aimed at crushing criminality in every part of the State.
He noted that increasing incidents of kidnapping, robbery, and other criminal activities in different parts of Abia influenced the government’s launch of an onslaught against hoodlums.
While receiving the vehicles, Abia State’s Commissioner of Police, Ken Onwuemelie, and heads of other benefiting security agencies lauded Governor Otti for his administration’s efforts against criminality.
They promised to utilise the new patrol vehicles in combating crime in the state, adding that the security of lives and property would receive optimal support with the addition of the new vehicles.
The new vehicles were driven round Umuahia town by men of the Nigerian Army and other security agencies.
