Nigeria Content Online

Aba, the economic
nerve centre of Abia State, is almost a ghost of itself with schools
and banks closed, as the siege on the city and its adjoining local
governments by kidnappers, continue. There is growing uncertainty over
the early release of the 15 school children abducted on Monday on their
way to school.

The Abia state
Commissioner of Police, Jonathan Johnson, however, said the closure of
banks was a panic measure that did not reflect the real security
situation in the city, adding that there were enough security personnel
posted to each of the banks in the city.

Throughout the
metropolis, as well as the Ogbor hill and Umungasi areas of Aba, there
is a near absence of school buses that usually run through the streets
to pick school children, and the few that were seen were without
pupils, as their parents were afraid of sending them to school.
Virtually every private school in the city has voluntarily closed.

There were also no
march past rehearsals in the schools that were open as was the case in
most of the schools last week, in preparation for our nations golden
jubilee celebration.

One of the
proprietors of the schools visited, who closed her school yesterday,
said it was sad that the government has shown no commensurate interest
in the safety of the kids the same way they did when the four
journalists were kidnapped. She expressed wonder that the government
could not buy tracking equipment for the police since they know that
kidnapping in Aba has become endemic and sophisticated, rather than
engaging in an amnesty that will not work, as the kidnappers are mere
criminals who might not embrace the programme.

“This amnesty thing
will not work. These are armed robbers who are into kidnapping because
it is an easier way of picking their millions without sweat,” she said.

Fighting talk

Meanwhile, the
heavy presence of soldiers was noticed in Aba on Thursday, especially
along the Port Harcourt Express Road, an indication that the government
might possibly go on the offensive against the hoodlums.

In a broadcast to
the state, the governor, Theodore Orji, assured the parents of the
kidnapped children that his administration, in conjunction with the
federal government, was doing everything in their power to ensure that
the young victims are released quickly and safely to rejoin their
parents, teachers and friends.

He emphasised that
his government is determined to stop this trend of kidnapping in Abia
State. “Despite attempts to build a theory of intentions around the
incidents of kidnapping in Abia State, our view now is that these
kidnappers are not reacting to any realistic issues that are of utmost
importance to their societies or to the state,” he said.

“These kidnappers
are mere gold diggers, whose resolution and trade ambition is to make
easy money and to secure the betterment of themselves alone, and so the
government will not allow a few disgruntled elements in criminal garb
to hold the entire state hostage. Government has been challenged, and
we have decided to take the utmost measure available to implement the
might and weight of government’s forces.”

Meanwhile, the police have raided the camps of some suspected
kidnappers in Ukwa West area of the state. However, the kidnappers had
escaped before the arrival of the police.