Being the Text of a Speech Delivered by Governor Alex C. Otti, OFR, at the Citizens’ Town-hall Engagement on Strengthening Community Policing in Nigeria, on August 22, 2024, at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia
Protocols,
1. On assumption of office in May last year, I announced that security of lives and property shall be the number one priority of the State Government as stipulated in our Constitution. Right from the inauguration podium, I made it clear that we were prepared to give everything to keep our people safe from criminals and those whose trade threaten the security and peace of our land.
2. Those were not just empty words; we made good on our promise a few weeks later by setting up a joint taskforce codenamed “Operation Crush” and gave the team a very simple mandate: make Abia a safe place for law abiding citizens, and a very uncomfortable territory for criminals.
3. We did not just stop at setting up a special intervention team to deal with the menace of violent crimes in all parts of the State, we went a step further to engage with the leadership of the various security and paramilitary formations to understand where they may need our assistance and the nature of support required to achieve our overarching objective of effectively securing our State.
4. Our focus on security revolved around the understanding that everything else we planned to do in terms of infrastructure development and welfare of the citizenry will amount to nothing if our people are constantly at the mercy of criminals. We had promised to build a 24-hour economy and make the State the hub of entrepreneurship in the country, promote prosperity and create a productive environment that supports the dreams and aspirations of the different demographics. However, we knew that repeated incidents of insecurity will derail our plans. To keep our agenda on track, we did what we needed to do.
5. While it is true that a few attempts had been made to sabotage our plans and create panic, we have also responded in ways that left no one in doubt that this administration has zero tolerance for crimes.
6. On this note distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me happily welcome you to the citizens’ town hall engagement on strengthening community policing in Nigeria. Your interest in today’s event points to the premium we all place on security as a structural foundation holding the development pillars together. Thank you for the great honour of your esteemed presence.
7. I want to very respectfully recognise and appreciate the Honourable Minister of Police Affairs, Mrs Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, and her entourage for this very timely initiative. May I also commend the ministerial team for championing the message of community policing to the nooks and crannies of the country. This change in approach is exactly what we need at a time like this because all hands need to be on deck to effectively address the challenge of insecurity. I am glad that the Honourable Minister has taken up the gauntlet.
8. It is gratifying to note that more than ever before, majority of us are beginning to develop a more robust appreciation of the importance of security, and our individual and collective responsibilities to keep our communities safe from the activities of those who traffic in, and profit from criminality. We clearly could not have continued in the old tradition of isolating community leaders and other stakeholders in security discussions. What is happening today should have been incorporated into our national security protocol long ago but as the popular saying goes, better late than never.
9. The coming together of senior government officials, law enforcement personnel, religious and community leaders, media practitioners and stakeholders from the civil society groups presents a major opportunity for robust engagements across board in the search for a more enduring solution to our security nightmare. It promises to be a truth-telling exercise, one that will open our eyes to new realities on the evolving dynamics of crime.
10. I am optimistic that events such as this will become more regular in our State because we need to continually evaluate our strategy from multiple lenses, assessing the effectiveness of our approach, the economic and social costs and of course, how they impact the rights of the citizens to freedom of association, movement and general pursuit of happiness.
11. For us in Abia, today’s event will serve two interconnected purposes: one, it will offer stakeholders a chance to interface with each other and reach a consensus on where we need to collaborate more with the leadership of the security formations in our respective communities. In the same breadth, we shall also go home today with new knowledge that will sharpen our awareness and give us insights on the danger signs to look out for, how to track suspicious individuals and events, and when to pass information to the security agencies to nip any untoward development in the bud. I am also certain that the role of technology in preventing and tracking crimes will form an important part of our discussion here because that is one advantage I believe we should fully exploit to stay one step ahead of the criminals.
12. This town-hall meeting is designed mainly to reawaken us to our responsibilities as citizens — as men and women who must do everything within our powers to prevent crime or help the law enforcement agents to bring criminals to justice. Just as we announced soon after we took over the reins of governance, there shall be no safe space for any criminal in our State. This statement was made with the understanding that we will always have the cooperation of Ndi Abia who customarily abhor crime to get the job done.
13. It may now seem like a distant memory but when we assumed office last year, several communities in Umunneochi and Isuikwuato LGAs were firmly under the control of criminal gangs who kidnapped, robbed, raped, maimed and killed our people at will. You may wish to recall that the former Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence, Samuel Kanu-Uche, and two other priests were kidnapped in 2022 in Umunneochi while returning from a function. Like the men of God, several other victims paid humungous sums to the abductors as ransom. Sadly, many never returned.
14. One of the first things we did as a government was to liberate those communities, flushed out the criminals and made the roads, forests and farms safe again. After we had dislodged the criminals from their camps, we went the extra mile to set up security posts in the towns and villages to offer effective response to any, and every threat, especially from groups operating from outside our boundaries.
15. We have also adequately responded to similar security challenges in other parts of the State over the last one year. The Government continues to gather actionable intelligence that have proved very helpful. Let me reassure you that our resolve to make Abia the most peaceful destination in the region remains very firm.
16. Even then, we are also mindful of the antics of those who may wish to reap some political advantages by instigating violence in different parts of the State. We have also received reports of clandestine moves to sponsor false publications in a desperate bid to portray the state in bad light. I can only say one thing to these groups: we are watching you and the long arm of the law shall catch up with you in no time.
17. It is heart-warming to have good representation from the media at this event and I am inclined to commend our brave journalists for the patriotic job you are doing for the country, and in defence of our democracy. Let me encourage you to remain steadfast in the good old tradition of prioritising the truth expressed through factual accounts, over speed and hunt for clicks.
18. Sensationalisation of security reports pose a great threat to public safety and must be discouraged. Narratives that portray our security operatives as helpless, especially when they are making heavy sacrifices to keep us safe can be very demoralising and may actually embolden the criminals. I believe that it is very unfair to make heroes of those who kill and impose misery on families and individuals for whatever reason. Anarchy and violence must never be mistaken for heroism.
19. It is important to remind us that we cannot continue to deliver on the very important mandates of the administration unless we work collectively to make our state crime-free. The battle against insecurity is one that we must win. My assurance is that no matter the resistance on our path, we shall never lose focus.
20. Thank you for listening and may God bless you.
Dr Alex C. Otti, OFR,
22/08/2024
