By CASMIR NWANKWO

The Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD) has called for the redeployment surveillance gadgets and digital tools to strategic location in Abia State.

The group also mourned the killing of one police officer, identified as Inspector Shehu Oyibo and three other casualties felled by assailants’ bullets, as contained in the official statement of police.

This is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, Executive Director and Barrister Femisi Akande, Head Human Rights Enforcement and litigation.

The statement reads in part” The Foundation has persistently maintained the call for intensification of security provision in Abia State and still maintains that call.

“What is happening in Abia State, especially in Aba, calls for a review of the approach in security service provision.

“With this rate of killings, no one needs to be told that the state government and security agencies need to build a working synergy so as to come up with a solution to this menace capable of turning investors away from Aba, regardless of the ongoing infrastructure provision in roads and energy.

“In previous releases – following similar deadly incidents – FENRAD has called for the deployment of surveillance gadgets and digital tools to strategic locations in Abia State. It is on this ground that the Foundation expresses concern with how the security votes in Abia State is being used.

“There is a need to study the trends and dynamics of these killings, especially in order to trace its source. The motivation behind these killings, be it political or not, has to be uncovered.

“The Foundation calls on the state government to work towards this end before this trend spreads to other parts of the state. This has to be done urgently so as to pre-empt other criminal gangs and groups from exploiting the current security breach to wreak havoc in the state and parts thereof.

“It is for this and other reasons that the Foundation calls on Governor Alex Otti to ensure that security votes are channelled to securing the state under his watch.

“A recent comparative study of security votes among Abia, Anambara and Lagos states from www. Govern_well org states thus: “in the 9 months of July 2023 to March 2024, Governor Alex C. Otti claimed Security Vote of N4.45bn from the reports of the Abia state Budget Performance Q3 & Q4 2023 & 1, 2024 while Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo spent N18m only.”

“Talking about how this money was massive to tackle insecurity, the source continued, “it means that Governor Otti spent 247 times what Soludo spent on his Security Vote within the same period. Anambra has 2.5 million more people than Abia, and is a more volatile state.

“The need to address this by breach in security is urgent. The governor must, the Foundation believes, is equal to the task and must see to it that this trend becomes a thing of the past as he did in Lokpanta axis which was at some point kidnappers’ den.

“It the governor indeed receives the figure quoted by the study and the Quarterly Budget Performance Report then, the Foundation believes that acquiring surveillance gadgets and transitioning Abia security landscape to digital is not a hard task.

“FENRAD calls on the Governor to act decisively and timely as this trend is already taking a toll on the investment landscape of the state he has been working hard to expand.”

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