Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has revealed that kidnappers, armed robbers, and other criminal gangs were in control of several communities in the state when he took over leadership, before his administration dislodged them.

Otti, who was delivering his third anniversary speech at Umuahia Township Stadium on Friday, said that the bandits had set up camps inside forests from where they terrorized innocent villagers, forcing natives to panic or flee.

He announced that the state government had been able to recover the communities from the bandits and reassert control of the areas through effective collaboration with security agencies.

“Security was a major challenge in the state three years ago. Several communities were held hostage as kidnappers, armed robbers, and other criminal groups set up camps in the forests from where they launched sporadic attacks on innocent Abians,” he said.

Governor Otti, who praised the heads of security agencies and traditional rulers for their roles in the restoration of security and order in communities, urged Abia citizens to always supply security agencies with information that would sustain the onslaught against criminals.

Otti also said that 2,997 truckloads of refuse were evacuated from the streets of the state a few weeks after he took over power in 2023, thereby saving residents from environmental pollution and its associated health hazards.

On the condition of Abia workers under his administration, the governor said that civil servants and pensioners no longer beg on the streets for their monthly salaries and pensions, as was the case in the past.

While thanking the citizens of the state for their support, Governor Otti promised that state funds and other resources would never be wasted on frivolities.