Abia State Governor Alex Otti has increased the N25 million bounty on the killers of five soldiers at the Obikabia junction in Aba to N30 million.
Otti made the announcement on Friday during a visit to Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area, by the state’s Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Hasan Abubakar.
This comes just a week after the governor promised ₦25 million to anyone who would provide information leading to the arrest of the culprits.
Chronicle NG reported on May 30, 2024, that five troops were slain at the Obikabia Junction in Aba by suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB.
The governor stated that the increase in the bounty was necessitated due to the addition of N5 million by a state indigene residing in the United States.
“Interestingly, the government has placed a bounty of N25 million, and just yesterday, an Abia son, who also comes from Obingwa and lives in the United States, sent us N5 million to upgrade the bounty to N30 million.
“So I am happy to announce that the bounty has just been upgraded to N30 million, to encourage anyone who will have useful information that will lead to the apprehension of the criminals,” he said.
Otti stated that the state government is collaborating with security authorities to prevent such occurrences from occurring in the future. The administration is working 24/7 to protect the state’s safety and security.
The governor said, “We also want to thank the intelligence service of the DSS, as they dispatched quite some people here to help us unravel this case.
“We are very single-minded about it. We must fish them out and ensure that they get the message that this place is a no-go area for terrorists, killers, kidnappers, and other criminals.”