The Abia State government has paraded three cattle rustlers recently arrested by the state’s security outfit codenamed ‘Operation Crush’.
The Operation Crush was technically set up by Governor Otti to swiftly identify, analyse and respond to security threats from and within any part of the state and to counter with necessary force, any incidence of kidnapping, armed robbery and other forms of violent crimes anywhere in the state.
The rustlers Saidu Ali, Yakubu Mohammed and Adamu Isa were all arrested after they had attempted to steal six cows out of thirty eight cows before the intervention of the security operative.
Parading the suspects at government house Umuahia on Monday, the special adviser to Governor Otti on security, Navy Commander Macdonald Uba retired said members of Operation Crush, which is the state’s inter-agency organization that is detailed to fight insecurity in the state, following a tip-off caught some cattle rustlers of the Hausa Fulani descent.
Uba revealed that the state government is not unmindful of the incidents of Fulani farmers crisis in Benue State and stated that these rustlers were caught in Ohiya, rustling cattle they had already arranged for the buyers from their fellow Fulani headsmen.
He recalled that the state has been inundated with issues of Fulani headers kidnapping, maiming, and collecting ransom in most parts of the state, especially Umunneochi.
Uba also emphasized that the impact of their action would have meant disaster for the citizens of that Ohiya community, if not for the swift action of Operation Crush.
He said “As you well know, we have a very strong farmers’ headers committee who got the tip-off and forwarded the intelligence to Operation Crush.
“They swiftly went and made this arrest and they have since been profiled by the Directorate of State Security Services”.
Comdr. Uba disclosed that “we all know what would have happened if those cattle were rustled and the effect it would have had on the Ohinya community.
“This would have occasioned a reprisal attack by the owners of the cattle that had been rustled. We have carried out preliminary investigations, which were conducted by the DSS. And we’ll be handing them over to the police for further investigation.
The retired Navy Commander who reiterated Governor Otti’s earlier stand in tackling insecurity said “This is to state that Abia State, under the leadership of His Excellency Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, will yield no ground to criminals, most especially those that will make life unbearable for the citizens of Abia State”, he declared.
Also speaking, the leader of the Hausa fulani community in Abia state, Alhaji Yaro Danladi condemned the attitude of the suspects.
He warned that the Hausa community in the state want peace, as such will not tolerate such to repeat.
While one of the suspects admitted that he was called for business, the other two denied the allegation, saying that they are farmers during interrogation.