Helpless by activities of marauding cultists and robbers that have occupied parts of Aba, Abia State, residents of the town have pleaded with the state police command to help secure the city. Speaking to News reports yesterday, residents from Ndiegoro, Over-Rail, and Ogbor-Hill axis of Aba lamented that cultists and criminals are rampaging in their areas, breaking into homes, stealing valuables, and most times killing each other without restrictions.
The State Police Command through the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, had recently said that the police will not allow criminals to overrun the city, urging residents to volunteer necessary information to police on time.
Ogbonna said police officers have returned to their duties after the #EndSARS protest and stressed the need for members of the public to volunteer whatever information they have to the police. He said activities of cultists are one area that police are working at, assuring that the Yuletide period will not be a crime-prone period as police are prepared to ensure a crime-free festive period.
The state police spokesperson also linked the security lapses in the state to the attacks on the police during the #EndSARS protest which unfortunately led to the death of two police officers in Aba. “Perhaps the security lapses happened because when your life is threatened and the people you’re working for are after you, you need to have a rethink. “You’ll make sure you protect yourself before protecting another person. You can only protect somebody else when you are safe,” he said.
Meanwhile, most residents lamented that Aba Area Command and the majority of the Police Divisions in the city stopped responding to distress calls prior to the #End- SARS protest, a situation they claimed has made the city endangered. According to Mr. Kenneth Udemba, “Ogbor-Hill, where I reside, is now a criminal’s reserved area. How can this be happening and the police is saying they’re angry and therefore can’t respond to plights of residents. “The society protested against them and did some unthinkable things against them, which I personally don’t support, but does that mean police work should stop? Even prior to the #EndSARS protest, police stop visiting major crime-prone areas in Aba.”
