Aba, the economic nerve centre of Abia State, is almost a ghost of itself with schools and banks closed, as the siege on the city and its adjoining local governments by kidnappers, continue. There is growing uncertainty over the early release of the 15 school children abducted on Monday on their way to school..
The Abia state Commissioner of Police, Jonathan Johnson, however, said the closure of banks was a panic measure that did not reflect the real security situation in the city, adding that there were enough security personnel posted to each of the banks in the city.
Throughout the metropolis, as well as the Ogbor hill and Umungasi areas of Aba, there is a near absence of school buses that usually run through the streets to pick school children, and the few that were seen were without pupils, as their parents were afraid of sending them to school. Virtually every private school in the city has voluntarily closed.
There were also no march past rehearsals in the schools that were open as was the case in most of the schools last week, in preparation for our nations golden jubilee celebration.
One of the proprietors of the schools visited, who closed her school yesterday, said it was sad that the government has shown no commensurate interest in the safety of the kids the same way they did when the four journalists were kidnapped. She expressed wonder that the government could not buy tracking equipment for the police since they know that kidnapping in Aba has become endemic and sophisticated, rather than engaging in an amnesty that will not work, as the kidnappers are mere criminals who might not embrace the programme.
“This amnesty thing will not work. These are armed robbers who are into kidnapping because it is an easier way of picking their millions without sweat,” she said.
Fighting talk
Meanwhile, the heavy presence of soldiers was noticed in Aba on Thursday, especially along the Port Harcourt Express Road, an indication that the government might possibly go on the offensive against the hoodlums.
In a broadcast to the state, the governor, Theodore Orji, assured the parents of the kidnapped children that his administration, in conjunction with the federal government, was doing everything in their power to ensure that the young victims are released quickly and safely to rejoin their parents, teachers and friends.
He emphasised that his government is determined to stop this trend of kidnapping in Abia State. “Despite attempts to build a theory of intentions around the incidents of kidnapping in Abia State, our view now is that these kidnappers are not reacting to any realistic issues that are of utmost importance to their societies or to the state,” he said.
“These kidnappers are mere gold diggers, whose resolution and trade ambition is to make easy money and to secure the betterment of themselves alone, and so the government will not allow a few disgruntled elements in criminal garb to hold the entire state hostage. Government has been challenged, and we have decided to take the utmost measure available to implement the might and weight of government’s forces.”
Meanwhile, the police have raided the camps of some suspected kidnappers in Ukwa West area of the state. However, the kidnappers had escaped before the arrival of the police.
