Imo State governor, Sen. Hope Uzodimma has lamented that the inmates that escaped from the Owerri Correctional Center some months ago as a result of jailbreak are presently on the rampage, wreaking havoc on the state.
To this end, Governor Uzodimma has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to come to the aid of the state by providing funds to him to tackle the security challenges.
The governor made this appeal after meeting President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.
He told State House correspondents that his mission at the nation’s seat of power was to ask the president for financial support to tackle insecurity in the southeast.
He said prisoners who escaped from the Owerri Correctional Center have compounded the security situation in the state as they have continued to cause havoc.
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According to him, ‘I gave Mr President my message and Mr President also, in his usual manner, addressed the issues to my satisfaction.
‘Prominent among the issues is just the increasing insecurity in the Southeast. I know that despite the activities of the bandits and unknown gunmen, recall that the correctional facility in Owerri was broken and over 1,836 inmates were released.
‘Since that time, they’ve been on a rampage, committing all sorts of crimes; kidnapping, robbery and other sorts of crimes in the state and there is need for us to really clean up the state because you know that this period of Christmas.
‘It is so important to our people and we want to ensure that those coming home to spend their Christmas will have a conducive atmosphere to enjoy their Christmas and then celebrate the season.”
‘Yes, we asked for support with additional manpower and also I asked for some kind of funding to support the security situation in Imo state and Mr President graciously approved.’
Uzodimma, who was chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Anambra State Campaign Council in the November 6 governorship election also said that the national leadership of the party and its candidate, Dr Andy Ubah, are to decide whether or not to challenge in court the declaration of Prof. Charles Soludo as the winner of the election.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
