Abia State Government has described as false and malicious, the report circulated by some bloggers that the administration had engaged the Eastern Security Network (ESN) to help confront Fulani Herdsmen and Protect Abia Farmers.
The news which has been declared as fake by Ferdinand Ekeoma, Special Adviser to Governor Otti on Media and Publicity went viral yesterday after the bloggers alleged that Otti brought in ESN following what they tagged “the continued inaction of Nigerian Security Forces”.
Responding, Ekeoma explained that the story is false, malicious and misleading, and has nothing to do with Abia state government led by Governor Alex Otti.
He said that the post is intended to create disaffection and cause unnecessary tension in the state, stressing that the authors of the statement had issued a similar fake statement a few weeks ago, but the government intentionally ignored them.
Ekeoma however, said that the government feel it has become necessary for the it to respond to the latest statement on ESN so that innocent and unsuspecting members of the public will not fall prey to such a dubious fabrication.
He said that the government of Abia State under the leadership of Governor Otti could not have contemplated embracing the services of none-state actors like ESN to fight criminals and insecurity of any kind in any part of the state.
Ekeoma made it clear that the state government’s confidence in the nation’s various security agencies led to the establishment of the state’s joint security taskforce codenamed “Operation Crush”.
He said that the joint taskforce has recorded tremendous success in the entire state and has kept the state safe and secure, in spite of skeletal cases of armed robbery and kidnapping which the government is working assiduously to completely eliminate.
Ekeoma warned that those who have decided to play dirty politics by inciting fear and violence against the state and its citizens, not minding the danger they pose to the lives and properties of Abia people, should know that their actions will attract severe consequences whenever they are caught.
The Abia government enjoined Abia residents to ignore the false statement and see it as another move by desperate enemies of the state to present it in bad light for their selfish agenda.
