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Some indigenes and resident of Lokpanta, Isuochi and Lokpaukwu communities in Umunnochi LGA, have thrown their weights behind Governor Alex Otti for making public, the findings of security agencies inside Lokpanta Cattle Market forest area.
The Eastern Updates recalls that Otti had during the second edition of his media chat with journalists, Sunday night, said that security operatives discovered 70 corpses inside forests around the Lokpanta Cattle Market at Umuchieze, Umunnochi LGA, explaining that the horrible discoveries were made during the raid carried out by the security agencies.
He went on to state that drugs, prostitution, and ransomware were among the crimes that were exposed in the area, and that human skeletons of victims who were not identified were found inside the trees.
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But reacting to the governor’s statement, some indigenes of Umunnochi LGAm, who spoke to reporters, said Otti’s report may be accurate as, according to them, the level of insecurity in their lands kept them in perpetual fear for about two years.
An indigene of Isuochi, who simply identified himself as Michael, alleged that roads leading to Isuochi became unsafe because of regular kidnapping activities of hoodlums.
Michael, who is a community leader in Isuochi, said that farmlands were also no longer safe for cultivation by women and young girls as they were afraid of being kidnapped or raped by criminals.
He thanked Governor Alex Otti for initiating a security outfit, Operation Crush, saying that the initiative had helped in tackling unbearable insecurity situation in the area.
Michael regretted that some indigenes of Isuochi were kidnapped while traveling out or coming into the community by bandits and were only released after paying a huge sum of money in ransom, even as he alleged some released kidnap victims, died at their homes or hospitals a few days after their release because of illnesses they developed in captivity.
The Isuochi indigene further alleged that a prominent in-law to his community who was allegedly kidnaped on his way to Isuochi in 2022, was yet to be found by his family, even till date, alleging that the said in-law may be among the decomposed corpses discovered in the forest.
