Otti denies using IPOB to ward off herders in Abia

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Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has denied allegations that he has approved the Eastern Security Network’s (ESN) involvement in the fight against herders invading farmlands in the state.

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ESN is the armed militant wing of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

In a statement on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Okeoma, Mr Otti described the allegation as “false, malicious and misleading.”

“For the record, the government of Abia State, under the leadership of Dr Alex Otti, could not have contemplated embracing the services of non-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 taskforce codenamed ‘Operation Crush,’” the statement reads in part.

“The joint taskforce 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.”

Mr Otti said those behind the allegation were only “playing dirty politics” by inciting fear and violence against the state.

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He vowed that those pushing the speculation would face “severe consequences” whenever they were caught.

“The government hereby enjoins Abia residents to ignore the false statement and see it as another move by desperate enemies of the state to present it in a bad light for their selfish agenda,” the statement added.

IPOB, a group seeking the secession of the South-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria, has been linked to some deadly attacks in the two regions.

But the separatist group has repeatedly denied its involvement in the attacks.