BY Special Correspondent
No fewer than 50 decomposing and 20 headless bodies have been discovered around Lokpanta Regional Castle market in Umunneochie Local Government Area of Abia.
Governor Alex Otti made the revelation during a media parley in Umuahia, the Abia state capital, on Sunday. He expressed regret that the vicinity of the market had become a den of criminals.
He vowed that there was no going back on the decision of the Government of Abia state to eject all residents out of the market.
Otti said the market would rather be made a daily one that closes in the evening and opens in the morning.
He noted that the ongoing campaign against insecurity in Umunneochie/Isuikwuato axis was beginning to yield fruits.
He vowed that no inch of Abia state, including where the dead bodies were found, would be allowed to serve as breeding grounds for criminals.
Furthermore, he said that any individual or group who still oppose government’s effort to sanitize the cattle market must be labeled a criminal or an accomplice, and be decisively dealt in accordance with the law.
He continued, “my administration has introduce technological means of fighting insecurity. We have installed electronic equipments that tell us what is happening in every part of Abia. Maybe some are not aware of this.
“A few weeks ago, a lot of ransom that was paid for kidnapping ended up somewhere around Umunneochi, and we decided to raid the place.
“During the raid, we made shocking revelation. In less than 48he’s, we discovered over 50 dead bodies around the cattle market in Umunneochi. We also discovered 20 decomposing headless bodies – men, women, children. We discovered so many skeletons of people killed.
“We also discovered that gunrunning, prostitution and so many despicable things were happening in the market. So we realised that the first thing to be done was yo secure the market. We went in and brought down many brothels. And we felt that the market, just like any other, should be a daily market which should be opened in the morning and closes by evening.”
Otti further hinted that part of the measures to boost security in the area was to convert the market to a general-purpose one and to fence it around.
He urged those hibernating in the market to go and live in the community so as to ensure peaceful cooxistence of people in that areas.
He said the fight against insecurity would not distract his administration from its developmental agenda, noting the the ongoing infrastructural development in the state unstoppable.
He promised that very soon, the age-long jinx of, ‘no road in Arochukwu is easy’ will be a thing of the past.
