The Nation Newspaper

Category: SouthEast

  • Umahi’s brother crowned king

    Chief Larz Umahi Nweze, eldest brother of Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi, has been crowned king of Uburu, a community in Ohaozara Local Government Area of the state.

    Many dignitaries, including those from outside the state, attended his coronation which took place at the village square. The celebrities who turned up for the event included traditional rulers from other autonomous communities in the state, state and federal lawmakers, commissioners, council chiefs, business executives, among others. Chief Umahi is now called Eze Adu III.

    The community, which is made up of four villages namely, Umunaga, Umuanikita, Mgbom and Urobo, was in a festive mood during the coronation.

    The community was without a king for close to 10 years, The Nation learnt.

    In his acceptance speech, the new Eze thanked stakeholders of the community, “who first mooted the idea of my becoming, prodded and nominated me to be the Eze Adu III of Uburu Autonomous community”.

    He also spoke about his plans for his kingdom and beyond.

    He said, “We will support and collaborate with all levels of government to move Uburu Autonomous community and the entire Uburu clan forward. Governor David Umahi who is our son, has been a source of pride. He is doing so well and we will give him all manner of support to do even better.”

    President-General, Town Union Uburu Autonomous Community, Hon. Innocent Uzor expressed joy over the coronation of the new king.

    “As a matter of fact, the people of Uburu Autonomous community have been longing for a day like this ever since the death and burial of Eze Adu II, HRH late Eze David Ekwe Nweze.

    “Our joy is indeed full that God has finally answered our prayers in a profound way. God has given us a generally accepted Eze-elect whose impeccability, probity of character, integrity, education and background are unassailable”.

    The state chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. Justice Ogbonna described the coronation of Eze Adu III as a welcome development, adding that the king was most appropriate for the position considering his enormous contributions to the development of the community.

    He enjoined members of the community in the state and Diaspora to support the new king so that he will succeed in his vision and programmes of moving the community forward.

    Governor Umahi presented the Eze with his Staff of Office at a ceremony in Abakaliki, the state capital. Four other traditional rulers were given their staff of office at the event.

    The Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Matters, Mr. Samuel Okoronkwo said that the traditional rulers met all the requirements as required by the constitution before they were installed by their various communities.

    They included Chief Livinus Okorie Ugbo (Oso-Edda community), Chief John Okpuru (Amaoffia), Chief Edward Chukwu (Oziza) and Chief Ibe Obani (Umuihe).

    Governor Umahi at the event called on the Ezes to rule with the fear of God.

    He urged the people to uplift the virtues for which the state is known.

    In their acceptance,   HRM Okpuru,  promised that they will use their staff of office to maintain peace and propagate the policies and programmes of the state  government in their communities.

    Eze Umahi Nweze promised to engender peace in Uburu community and to use his connections and contacts in the corridors of power to attract a lot of developmental projects and policies to his people.

     

  • Aba police get security vehicles

    The Aba police command has received 20 Sport Utility Vehicles fully fitted with modern security gadgets. The SUVs were donated by Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

    The Inspector-General of Police Solomon Arase received the security vehicles from Ikpeazu before handing them over to the state Commissioner of Police, Joshak Habila.

    Mr. Habila warned criminals in the commercial town and other parts of the state to relocate, saying that the force in collaboration with other security agencies would make Aba and other parts of the state unsafe for them.

    He stressed that with the 20 vehicles and more that will follow, security agencies would make the state a destination for investors.

    Detailing how the vehicles would be used, the state police chief stated that the vehicles were not going to be used for patrols, but to be stationed at places he described as black spots and tactical operation points, including exit routes through which criminals escape after robbing or kidnapping their suspects.

    “We have crime-mapped the state which gives us the opportunity to locate areas used as escape routes by criminals and hoodlums. The vehicles are going to be pinned down in such black spots, vulnerable and tactical operation points. The essences is to enable us cut short response time during distress calls and to lock down the city from criminals who would come to commit offence and take to flight.

    “Aba is no longer safe and it is going to be very hot and discomforting for criminals who may want to come into the city and the state to commit any crime and would want to have his way.”

    Assuring that the vehicles would be judiciously used and properly monitored, Abia State Police Commissioner used the opportunity to reassure residents of Aba, Abians and investors to the state of their safety and safety of their businesses.

    He called for the collaboration of members of the public in the fight against crime and criminality, urging them to report cases and activities of criminals and hoodlums within their neighbourhoods to the police and other security agencies as part of their contribution in making the society safe for all to live.

    Before the vehicles were handed over to various police divisions including MOPOL 55 Squadron Command, they were driven round the city of Aba in a convoy patrol led by the state Commissioner of Police and assisted by the Aba Area Commander and MOPOL 55 Squadron Commander, Peter Wagbara and Subay Oladipo.

     

  • Union gets new leaders

    The Ebonyi State Development Association (ESDA), Lagos Branch, has elected its new officers. Mr. Paul Ikele was elected president of the union and will serve a term of four years.

    Others elected were Mr Joseph Egbo (1st Vice President); Mr Francis Akan (2nd Vice President); Mr. Joseph Okon (General Secretary); Mr Idam Onyekwere (Assistant Secretary); Ide Nwonu Sunday (Treasurer); Chief Lazarus Nwafor (Financial Secretary); Comrade Joseph Igboji (Public Relations Officer); Mr Obosi Job Obasi (Assistant Public Relations Officer).

    The officials were inaugurated by Chief Augustine Ogbodo, a lawyer.

    Ikele thanked members of the union for their confidence in the leaders, adding that his administration would focus on innovation.

    He said, “Our administration will bring good transformation, reliability and progress and…ensure the association attains its highest point with humility and respect…We shall ensure financial strength, self-sustenance, empowerment [of members].”

  • Obiano’s wife touches lives

    The art of giving and sharing of goodwill, captured in the Igbo saying that “nma nma n’ezu ora”- which literally means goodwill traverses the community – may have found good expression in the way the wife of the governor of Anambra State, Mrs Ebelechukwu Obiano, carries out charitable courses.

    When she was asked to choose a pet project through which she can support the work of her husband, Chief Willie Obiano, the governor of Anambra State, Osodieme, as she is fondly referred to in her traditional title, had no hesitation. She merely activated her passion for supporting and empowering women, especially widows, youths and the indigent members of the society.

    In August 2014 she set up the Caring Family Enhancement Initiative (CAFÉ), a non-governmental, nonpartisan organisation as a beacon of hope and sustainable empowerment for women and the less privileged, thereby keeping her promise to be the voice of women beside her husband by providing succor to the needy as well as indigent widows and rural women across the177 communities of Anambra state.

    It is worth mentioning that the art of giving had been second nature to Mrs. Obiano long before her husband became governor. In fact, her undiluted love for charity is a passion she shares with her husband, Willie. The couple is well known for their numerous philanthropic interventions, and they have been honoured for selfless services and commitment to charity wherever they sojourned.

    It is therefore no surprise that Mrs. Obiano’s choice NGO CAFÉ, aligns with the Blessed Mother Theresa’s credo of “Give, but give until it hurts.” Simply put, since CAFÉ came on stream what was once a quiet way of life for Osodieme has captured the imagination of many in Anambra State and redefined public perception of the strategic role of state governors’ wives.

    As the fulcrum of Mrs. Obiano’s  many acts of charity in almost two years, CAFE makes strategic interventions in the lives of vulnerable members of the society like indigent widows, women, youth, children, as well as the mentally and the physically challenged. So far, Mrs. Obiano has set very high standards with CAFÉ projects in parts of Anambra State. Some of the projects undertaken so far include;

    The flagship intervention, CAFÉ Housing for Indigent Widows borne out of the need to help the helpless by putting a roof over their heads. The project is ongoing in many communities across three Senatorial zones of Anambra State. Already completed houses were recently commissioned in Agulu, Nri, Alor, Umunya and many others are still under construction.

    There is also the CAFÉ Market Toilets project with facility for both female and male and borehole water supply being executed in select rural markets in communities across the three Senatorial Districts of Anambra State to promote hygiene and preserve the dignity of the rural women. The toilets at Eke Igwe Nteje, Afor Mbaukwu have been completed and others are ongoing.

    Chief (Mrs.) Obiano’s commitment to uplifting the fortunes of women at all levels is very well known across the state. She has devoted the CAFÉ platform to providing distressed women with immediate relief from hunger. A total of 600 indigent women have undergone skills acquisition training in tailoring and fashion design, Bakery and confectionary, Soap making, Hair dressing and Beauty Therapy, as well as community health services to promote safe health practices in remote communities. The graduands are empowered with equipment in their chosen field and given seed money to take-off and make a living.

    Equally, CAFÉ has positively improved the mobility of over 700 physically challenged persons who were given free artificial limbs with the Sponsorship of free Prosthetic Limb fittings for the physically-challenged and other mobility aides like wheelchairs.

     

    . Ozumba is Senior Special Assistant, Media, to the Governor of Anambra State

  • Umahi’s brother crowned king

    Umahi’s brother crowned king

    Chief Larz Umahi Nweze, eldest brother of Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi, has been crowned king of Uburu, a community in Ohaozara Local Government Area of the state.

    Many dignitaries, including those from outside the state, attended his coronation which took place at the village square. The celebrities who turned up for the event included traditional rulers from other autonomous communities in the state, state and federal lawmakers, commissioners, council chiefs, business executives, among others. Chief Umahi is now called Eze Adu III.

    The community, which is made up of four villages namely, Umunaga, Umuanikita, Mgbom and Urobo, was in a festive mood during the coronation.

    The community was without a king for close to 10 years, The Nation learnt.

    In his acceptance speech, the new Eze thanked stakeholders of the community, “who first mooted the idea of my becoming, prodded and nominated me to be the Eze Adu III of Uburu Autonomous community”.

    He also spoke about his plans for his kingdom and beyond.

    He said, “We will support and collaborate with all levels of government to move Uburu Autonomous community and the entire Uburu clan forward. Governor David Umahi who is our son, has been a source of pride. He is doing so well and we will give him all manner of support to do even better.”

    President-General, Town Union Uburu Autonomous Community, Hon. Innocent Uzor expressed joy over the coronation of the new king.

    “As a matter of fact, the people of Uburu Autonomous community have been longing for a day like this ever since the death and burial of Eze Adu II, HRH late Eze David Ekwe Nweze.

    “Our joy is indeed full that God has finally answered our prayers in a profound way. God has given us a generally accepted Eze-elect whose impeccability, probity of character, integrity, education and background are unassailable”.

    The state chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. Justice Ogbonna described the coronation of Eze Adu III as a welcome development, adding that the king was most appropriate for the position considering his enormous contributions to the development of the community.

    He enjoined members of the community in the state and Diaspora to support the new king so that he will succeed in his vision and programmes of moving the community forward.

    Governor Umahi presented the Eze with his Staff of Office at a ceremony in Abakaliki, the state capital. Four other traditional rulers were given their staff of office at the event.

    The Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Matters, Mr. Samuel Okoronkwo said that the traditional rulers met all the requirements as required by the constitution before they were installed by their various communities.

    They included Chief Livinus Okorie Ugbo (Oso-Edda community), Chief John Okpuru (Amaoffia), Chief Edward Chukwu (Oziza) and Chief Ibe Obani (Umuihe).

    Governor Umahi at the event called on the Ezes to rule with the fear of God.

    He urged the people to uplift the virtues for which the state is known.

    In their acceptance,   HRM Okpuru,  promised that they will use their staff of office to maintain peace and propagate the policies and programmes of the state  government in their communities.

    Eze Umahi Nweze promised to engender peace in Uburu community and to use his connections and contacts in the corridors of power to attract a lot of developmental projects and policies to his people.

     

  • Makeover in Aba

    After years of neglect, Aba, the commercial heart of Abia State, is changing for the better, reports UGOCHUKWU UGOJI-EKE

    The effort of Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to change the face of Aba, the state’s commercial hub, is yielding fruit. The forgotten city is enjoying some infrastructural makeover.

    The renewal of the city started immediately the governor took office, commissioning the building of 25 roads with the promise that they will be completed within the first quarter of his administration, despite the fact that the work started during the rainy season.

    The reconstruction of roads is not only in Aba. Many parts of the state also have their own share of road construction including Ohafia, Abam and Umuahia. The Item Ring Road in Bende Local Government Area of the state will soon be commissioned.

    Much of the work on Aba’s poor roads in the past has been palliative. Ikpeazu’s efforts are more enduring. His administration introduced the cement technology, which involves using cement as base with iron rods before laying tar.

    The beauty of the roads being done by the present administration is that they come with stone bases and standard drainage system, bearing in mind the unique topography of the city of Aba which is virtually flat and also accompanied with streetlights to illuminate the streets and help to reduce the activities of night marauders.

    The governor, whose country home is just about five minutes’ drive from the heart of the city, has not spared anyone whose house stands in the way. He has demolished the fence of his maternal uncle which was obstructing the expansion of Old Umuahia/Aba Road.

    Speaking while flagging off the road construction, Ikpeazu said that his administration was in a hurry to return the city to what the colonial masters and its founding fathers planned, so that the lost glory of the city would be redeemed.

    Ikpeazu said if the old Imo State under the government of the late Sam Mbakwe could rebuild Aba and get all the taxes it needed to run the state, there is nothing stopping the present government from doing same especially now that the state is smaller and the people willing to cooperate.

    The governor noted that once you get Aba right, it is a small job to run the affairs of the state, as the people of the city are willing to pay their taxes so long as government is willing to provide them with the necessary amenities that are required for a place to be called a township.

    One of the houses that was demolished was a church building along Ngwa Road by Emelogu which was standing in the way and when the governor got there he said that he was not seeing a building but an obstruction which must give way for a standard road to be constructed and free flow of waste water from both Emelogu and Ngwa roads into the Aba River.

    Since the governor started his road construction in Aba, Kamalu, Ommne, ENUC, Umuola, Ukaegbu, Umule roads have been built and completed while Ube, East, Georges, Weeks, Park, Pound, Ochefu among others have been resurfaced completely, while it is expected that in no distant time more roads will be completed.

    One of the roads that was newly constructed with cement technology, Umuola Road at Ogbor Hill part of the city was commissioned by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo during his first visit to the state under the present government. The former president described the road as not only standard but a thing of beauty which should be copied by other state governors if they want their roads to last.

    Obasanjo, during the commissioning of the road, stressed the need for the government to pay attention to infrastructure, health, agriculture, transportation and power as major elements that will drive development and reduce poverty among the people.

    The former president described Aba as the focal point of economic development in the South East was of the view that if the people are empowered and provided with skills in Aba it will augur well for the entire South East and South-South zones and their people.

    He commended Governor Ikpeazu for his dream to transform Aba and thus enhance the socio political and economic in the state and described him as an achiever, and used the forum to appeal to Aba people to desist from blocking the drains with refuse if they want the roads being built by their governor to last long.

    Since the governor started his road construction and rehabilitation across the state, Abians are happy with the development and have scored him high on his zeal and passion to provide motor able and durable road network for the people especially those in Aba.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • ‘Review tricycle ban in Abia’

    Commuters and commercial tricycle operators in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, have urged the state government to review the restriction of commercial tricycle operation in parts of the state.

    A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the state government, Mr. Godwin Adindu said, inter alia, “Following the resurgence of sundry crimes in the two metropolises of Aba and Umuahia, the governor of the state, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has reinforced the ban on the operation of Okada riders within the metropolis of Aba and Umuahia. All Keke operators should limit their operations to 7pm daily till further notice…The governor also warns all criminals in the state to run away from the state or face extermination.”

    Some commercial tricycle operators described the ban as a welcome development since it is geared towards checking crime, but added that it was negatively affecting their businesses. Commuters equally complained about difficulty in movement since the enforcement of the ban.

    The tricycle operators said, “We welcome the decision of the state government to tackle insecurity in the state. But we wonder why they should moved it from the 9pm it was before to 7pm. For us it is too early and on the allegation that most of the crimes committed by kidnappers and armed robbers were done using Keke, we want to say that in a twelve, there must be a Judas. But don’t they use cars to commit crimes? We have heard of “one chance” where some people pretending to be commercial bus drivers use their cars to dupe unsuspecting members of the public. Most of us, like most commercial bus drivers, load in one loading bay or the other. Nobody will use his keke registered with ASATOA or government recognised union for any illegal business. I am not saying that we (tricycle operators) are saints, but the basic thing is that the state government should properly equip the police and other security agencies in the state like Lagos recently did. Police on their own should build on intelligence gathering like their counterpart and also should learn to protect their source.

    “I live around Obohia, I must tell you that the level of crime around my area is very high and the response time or police and other security agencies whenever we are under attack is very slow. If you call police that robbers are in our area, they will either come and arrest innocent people or shoot into the air when the robbers must have completed their assignment.”

    A commuter who identified herself as Chinwe said she had to sleep in a hotel after a trip from Abuja before she could get to her residence the next day, as according to her, the road to her place is impassable except with a tricycle.

    She however, called on the state government to adopt a more proactive measures in combating crimes in the state and to see how they can partner with the police to make logistics available to the security agencies, stressing that the 7pm ban on the operations of commercial tricycle operators will do little to tackle insecurity in the state, but would cause more hardship on the people.

    “Life in Lagos is 24 hours. Go to Owerri, Akwa Ibom, Awka, Enugu State to mention but a few, you will agree with me that the state government has done enough to improve security situation in these towns. Why can’t such a thing be replicated in our state? We are talking a time when states are doing everything possible to encourage night life; a time for people to relax with friends including investors who may have spent more time during the daytime in one business meeting or the other. I am just coming back from Abuja after visiting Onitsha, Awka, amongst other cities, but I must tell you that business operators make more money at night than in the day time because government has it so. ASba is a commercial city that is being visited by people from other African countries and other parts of the world. We want to see business being on in Aba anytime of the day. People should be allowed free movement. Government should guarantee people adequate security. That is what we want and not banning of keke riders operational hours.”

    Some traders and shop owners who sell food and provisions, decrying the ban said that it is affecting their business negatively.

    A food vendor who sells noodles, fried eggs, beans and pap near Milverton said, “I and others that do the same business don’t have shops. We only sale in the night when owners of the shops we mounted canopy in front of might have gone home. That is to say that we do our business at night. Because of the ban,  we have recorded low turnout of customers. Some of our customers especially the male folk are bachelors. You know that they don’t normally cook; they from us before going home. But since the new directives came from the state government, our market has not been going well, no thanks to the state of the nation’s economy. So many of our customers now hurry to go home. Thereby negatively affecting our businesses. So, we want government of the state to look into the order and see how they can help us. If it continues, it is going to kill night life in Aba. “

  • Jobs foundation launched in Anambra

    A foundation to help youths find jobs has been launched in Anambra State.

    The platform named SAB Miller Hero’s Foundation, will train youths and help them acquire entrepreneurial skills, according to Mr Lukas Van Deventer, General Manager, SAB Miller, owners of Intafact Beverages Limited, which launched the foundation.

    Deventer who briefed reporters at the company’s office at Bridge-Head, Onitsha, the state’s commercial city, said the foundation aimed at empowering youths in the Southeast as well as Southsouth, adding that it has already taken off in Ilesa, Osun State.

    “The kick-start programme is aimed at creating and developing a culture of entrepreneurship among our young people by promoting business skills, managerial awareness and material support,” he said.

    “The major objective of this programme is to ensure that the teeming youth in the Southeast realise their entrepreneurial dreams and help the region further reduce undergraduate unemployment, by engaging them meaningfully through this entrepreneurship programme that will help nurture and encourage them to bring their dream and business aspirations to life.

    “To this end, we have established a foundation, the SAB Miller Hero’s Foundation, to pursue this singular objective. More than any other initiative, we are investing in the future of our region by helping to build a prosperous young society, and this programme is the hallmark of our Corporate Social Investment (CSI) objectives to the areas in which we operate.”

  • Enugu Rotary needs N26m for rural projects

    Enugu Rotary needs N26m for rural projects

    The Charter President of the Rotary Club of Enugu City Centre, Dr. Eddy Ndibuagu has said that the club would need at least N26.3m to finance its projects this year.

    Ndibuagu listed the projects to include immunisation, youth development, educational programmes, as well as the building of toilets and boreholes for a secondary school in rural areas.

    Speaking at the inauguration of the Rotary Teen Peer Ambassadors Projects for secondary schools, (ROTEPA) in Enugu, Ndibuagu explained that the club planned to provide toilets in a rural college to save the students from the risk of going to the bush for defecation. Another plan was to provide the school with potable water.

    He, however, noted that the club could not do much to raise the funds and solicited the support of corporate organisations to actualise their dream of improving the quality of life of students.

    The national coordinator, Human Rights Volunteer Corps, Larry Oguego explained that the Rotary Teen Peer Project, (RotePA) was the club’s initiative designed to harvest young talents from the essay competitions, train and mentor them and launch them to excel. The event was organised as part of activities to mark 111 years of Rotary International, 1905 to 2016.

    Oguego said, “Part of our mandate is to identify these new breeds, equip them with professional skills, give them the orientation to grow with the right value. We want to build a new future and if we fail to invest and show good examples, then we will have ourselves to blame.”

    Oguego said the essay competition was primarily organised in honour of the club’s outstanding citizen of the world, Prince Arthur Eze, who later gave university scholarships to all the ten best students who featured in the essay.

    An SSII student, Okolie Goodness, from Girls High School , Uwani, Enugu , won the club’s maiden Essay competition for 20 secondary schools in Enugu State .

    Students from Federal Government College Enugu, Holy Rosary College , HRC, Enugu , Queen’s School Enugu and Girls High School featured at the occasion.

    In a lecture entitled “Peace on Earth” a former Commissioner for Agriculture in Enugu State , Dr. Emma Nwankpa, PGD, disclosed that Paul Harris, the founder of Rotary in Chicago , USA , on 23rdFebruary, 1905, recognized and encouraged fellowship, as a basis of turning acquaintanceship into friendship.

    Nwankpa, who won Rotary’s Global Quest Prize for leadership in Barcelona, Spain as governor of Rotary International district 9140, in 2002, said that Paul Harris also believed in Vocational excellence as a basis for ones continued relevance in the community, as well as in the principle of “common good” in the community.

    He continued: “This followed from the fact that in the human society, in one person’s right, there correspondents a duty in all other persons: the duty, namely, of acknowledging and respecting the right in question, for every fundamental human right draws its indestructible moral force from the natural law, which in granting it, imposes a corresponding obligation.

    He further observed that those who claim their own rights, yet, forgot or neglect to carry out their respective duties, were people who build with one hand and destroy with the other.”

    On poverty, the former managing director of Enugu  State Transport Company (ENTRACO), noted that Rotary, through its foundation, had been fighting material poverty from inception, eradicating diseases and promoting preventive measures, provision of potable water, eradication of guinea warm, and poliomyelitis, with the rest of child killer diseases.

  • Coalition against crime in Enyimba City

    Coalition against crime in Enyimba City

    As violent criminals return to Aba and other Abia State communities, some security organisations have devised strategies to ward them off, including daily joint patrols. SUNNY NWANKWO reports

    The resurgence of violent crime in Abia State hurts but there is good news, too. There is a well-thought-out counterforce against the criminals. Every day, a security team comprising the police, Civil Defence, the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Prisons, Abia State Vigilante Services (AVS), among others, patrols Aba, the state’s commercial nerve, and other communities to deter the outlaws. It was said that the joint patrol, code-named “Operation Show of Force”, will continue until the battle is won against the criminals who terrorise residents and scare off visitors.

    Security sources said the essence of the daily patrol is to ensure that security around the commercial city is tight enough to keep criminal elements at bay.

    They said the exercise will be demanding but the safety of Aba residents and their properties cannot be compromised.

    A source in the Aba police command further disclosed that beyond the daily joint operation,  plainclothes personnel gather intelligence which would be processed and worked upon in order to disarm hoodlums planning any sort of atack in the state.

    The source also urged Aba residents to be courageous enough to give police and other sister agencies information over the activities of hoodlums in their streets, communities and business areas.

    The source assured that the security team was fully equipped and determined to make Aba peaceful and friendly for business operations to thrive.

    Some Aba residents have hailed the steps taken by the state police command and other  agencies to tackle the resurgence of crime in Enyimba City and some other towns in the state.

    They recalled that insecurity of lives and property became worse in Aba especially after the conduct of 2015 general elections, even as they accused politicians of being the brain behind the high level of arm circulation in the city.

    “Many of the politicians, we learnt, brought back some  of the bad boys that had left the city during the 2011-2012 heat on them because they want to win election. They bought guns and other dangerous weapons for them. But with the elections over and having spent all the monies that they were given and without any source of income, the boys are now using the guns and those dangerous weapons which the desperate politicians gave them to terrorise and steal from us.

    “If police and other security agencies failed to recover such weapons from these hoodlums and improve on their response time to distress calls, I bet you, crime will continue to be on the increase in not only in Aba, but other parts of the state,” a respondent who gave his name as Chinedu, said.