Your time is up, Uzodimma tells ‘trigger-happy criminals’ in Imo

Hope Uzodimma, governor of Imo, says the state will no longer be a breeding haven for criminals.

Speaking at the presentation of vehicles and gadgets to security operatives on Wednesday, Uzodimma said his administration will never be intimidated by criminals and their sponsors.

In recent times, the state has witnessed a series of attacks on security and detention facilities, leading to the death of some police officers.

The Imo governor commiserated with families of officers who were killed in the course of duty, adding that his administration will do the needful to support their families.

The governor also said he will integrate the south-east security outfit, codenamed Ebube Agu, into the operation search and flush team in the state, to complement the efforts of security agencies.

“Today’s event heralds the presentation of more vehicles and security gadgets to our operation Search and Flush team. It is a bold statement on our iron-clad resolve to flush out criminals from our dear state. It is a signal to bandits, hoodlums, and trigger-happy criminals that their time is up in Imo state,” he said.

“You will recall that just a few days after I assumed office as the governor of Imo State, I inaugurated the security outfit known as operation Search and Flush,(OSF), which brought together all the different security agencies to work as a team to fight every form of criminality.

“The objective then and now is to rout and root out every aspect of crime in our state. I empowered the outfit then with a record of 100 patrol vehicles and sophisticated communication equipments to help them achieve the objective. There is no doubt that that intervention yielded positive results, the recent pockets of crime here and there notwithstanding.

“Consequently, I hereby charge our security agencies to chase the criminals to their hideouts. All smoking joints where marijuana and other dangerous drugs are sold and used should be searched and flushed out. Henceforth, any landlord who avails his property to criminals, even smokers of weeds would be answerable to the law.

“In like manner, any traditional ruler in whose domain criminals abides and who fails to report same to relevant authorities will be held accountable. We can no longer tolerate a situation whereby our state is used as a breeding haven for criminals.”