Abia discovers 70 dead bodies during forest raid

According to Abia State Governor Alex Otti, during a search of the forests near the Lokpanta Cattle Market in the Umunneochi axis of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, security personnel found 20 decaying bodies and skeletons.

According to him, the market was also the location of another 50 victims that were discovered nearby, and the ransom paid to the kidnappers was also linked to the market.

At the state capital of Umuahia on Sunday, during the second round of his monthly media chat, Otti revealed this.

In keeping with his administration’s pledge to protect the lives of every state resident and tourist, he declared that no square inch of the state’s land mass would be left for criminals.
He maintained that the goal of the state’s determination to transform the cattle market into a daily market was to update the security framework of both the market and the community that hosts it, not to specifically target any one tribe in the nation.

“No government can succeed in the face of insecurity, which is why we have taken a stand to provide Abia citizens and visitors with adequate security,” he stated. This administration will not assist criminals in any way or let them reside anywhere in the state. We found 50 dead bodies, 20 headless dead bodies, men, women, and children, as well as an uncountable number of skeletons, when we chose to take over the Lokpanta cattle market in the state’s Umunneochi Local Government Area. Additionally, we found that ransom payments made to abductors were typically made near a market.

However, after speaking with leaders of the Northern community, we informed them that anyone who disagrees with the steps we are taking to secure the state must be a criminal. As a result, they quickly saw reason with us and revoked the quit notice they had previously issued to the Igbos living in the North. It was regrettable that some people misunderstood our action and thought we were asking the Northerners who were trading in the market to leave the state.

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People can go to the market, conduct business, and then leave at the end of the day, which is why we have chosen to turn the market into a daily market. Once again, the market will feature sections for other commodities in addition to cattle, much like any other market.

“People who were living inside the market will now be living outside the market with other people in the state.”

Asserting that his administration is dedicated to using public funds to give citizens high-quality infrastructure, the governor went on to say that the government will not use its resources to cater to attention-seekers and purported political stakeholders.

He urged people who were complaining about not getting paid their salaries to bring their grievances to the state’s office of the Account General, promising that their petitions would be handled as quickly as possible.