Security Chiefs Read Riot Act To Criminals In Elele, Ubima

Security operatives in Rivers State have declared an emergency on security in the Ubima/Elele axis of the state.
This was the outcome of a meeting convened by the management of Siat Nigeria Limited with their host communities and security agencies in Ubima in Ikwerre Local Government Area on Wednesday.
The meeting was to  find solution to the increasing spate of insecurity threatening the company’s operations in the area.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Elele, Mr. Elijah Eleke, said that the command would enforce the emergency on crime declared by the state Police Commissioner, Chris Ezike in the area.
Eleke said that the activities of criminals in the area were already threatening the lives of local and expatriate workers of the company as well as the entire economy, warning that the police would no longer condone the situation where some persons hid under the banner of cultism to unleash mayhem on the public.
The DPO said that last January this year, criminals have unleashed terror on innocent people in the area including the kidnapping of an expatriate worker of the company after killing his security guard, killing of a toddler, and the rampant encroachment on the company’s property.
He also warned parents to call their children and wards to order.
Also speaking, the Commander, Joint Task Force (JTF), Isiokpo, Major A. I. Anderson, said that the activities of criminals in the area were becoming a source of concern to the JTF.
Anderson also described as an affront, the situation where criminals were poaching on Siat Nigeria Limited, knowing that there are soldiers in the company, and called for a halt to the trend.
In their separate speeches, both the paramount ruler of Ubima, Eze Joseph Ofurum, and his Ozuoha counterpart, King Franklin N. Onuoha, called on the security agencies to come to the aid of the communities.
They also stressed the need for the police to ensure that criminals in their custody were no longer released to serve as deterrent to others.
Earlier, Head of Administration of Siat Nigeria Limited, Mr. Felix Kakanda, had said that the meeting was to brief the stakeholders on the activities of criminals in the area with a view to seeking solution to the menace.
He said that with the meeting successfully concluded, the company would now take every necessary  step to protect its investments.
Communities represented at the meeting included Ubima, Omerelu, Apani, Egbu and Ozuaha.
The rest were Isu, Omademe, Ogida, Ihie and Ozuzu.