Emmanuel Ugwu
A rash of security beef up has commenced at commercial banks in Umuahia, the capital of Abia state, following a threat letter allegedly sent by armed robbers asking the banks to prepare to be invaded like it happened in Aba last week.
Similar letter and the subsequent armed robbery attacks on commercial banks operating in Aba caused the banks to close shops since last Wednesday thereby paralysing business activities in the commercial and industrial nerve centre of Abia state.
To avert possible armed robbery attacks, banks in Umuahia have beefed up security around their premises, even to the discomfort of their customers, who are subjected to serious security scrutiny before being allowed into the bank halls to access banking services.
In some banks, customers were not allowed to drive into the premises leaving a long queue of vehicles along the streets where such banks are located and also in the adjoining streets...
As expected, bank customers are already agonising over the extra checks they were made to undergo in order to transact businesses in their banks but opinions were divided as some said they didnít mind so long as it would guarantee security given the experience of banks in Aba.
It would be recalled that when the criminals allegedly wrote some banks in Aba informing them that they were coming for a nefarious visit the threat letters were ignored and the armed robbers eventually invaded the banks to the consternation of the affected banks that lost huge sums of money to the invading hoodlums.
There has also been noticeable influx of security men into Umuahia drawn from formations in other states. One of such detachment from Kaduna is camped at Union Primary School Afara waiting to be mobilised as at press time.
The security situation in Abia appears to have worsened following the set back suffered by the amnesty programme of the state government when the extended deadline expired on Sunday. A combined team of soldiers and policemen was said to have thrown a spanner in the works when they stormed one of the centres where repentant criminals were expected to surrender their arms and register for rehabilitation package by Abia government in collaboration with the federal government.
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