Insecurity in Abia: How 70 Corpses Were Uncovered Near Cattle Market
Two months after the launch of Operation Crush by the Abia State Government, over 50 decomposing corpses and 20 headless ones were discovered in a forest around the Lokpanta Cattle Market in Umunneochi Local Government Area.
Across the entire Southeast region, insecurity challenges have continued to affect businesses, as kidnapping for ransom and killings have witnessed a steady rise since the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, the founder of the proscribed Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB) and the armed sister wing, the Easter Security Network (ESN).
Following several security reports regarding incidents around the Lokpanta Cattle Market, a residential market, the government decided to make the cattle market a daily and non-residential one.
The State Governor, Alex Otti, during his weekly media chat, said the decision to raid the forest near the market and make the market a non-residential one was not to prevent Northerners who trade cattle in the market.
“When we decided to occupy the Lokpanta Cattle Market in the Umunneochi Local Government Area of the state, we discovered 50 dead bodies, 20 headless dead bodies, including men, women, and children, and uncountable skeletons. We also discovered that ransoms paid to kidnappers were usually dropped close to the market,” he said.
He added, “It was unfortunate that some people misinterpreted our action to mean that we asked the northerners trading in the market to leave the state.”
