Abia State government says its attention has been drawn to a post by a faceless blogger alleging that the Governor of the State, Alex Otti, approved the involvement of IPOB's Eastern Security Network, ESN, to confront herdsmen and protect Abia farmers.
The state government, while describing the fake post as false, malicious and misleading, said it had nothing to do with the ESN, pointing out that the news was intended to create disaffection and cause unnecessary tension in the state.
A statement on Sunday signed by Ferdinand Ekeoma, the Special Adviser to Governor Otti on Media and Publicity, said that authors of the statement had issued a similar fake statement a few weeks ago, which Abia State government intentionally ignored .
“For the records, the government of Abia State under the leadership of Dr Alex Otti could not have contemplated embracing the services of none-state actors to fight criminals and insecurity of any kind in any part of the state.
“The state government's confidence in our various security agencies led to the establishment of the state's joint security task force codenamed “Operation Crush”. The joint task force 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.
”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 Abians, should know that their actions will attract severe consequences whenever they are caught,” the Abia government warned.
