In a statement Yesterday, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate for 2023, Peter Obi, response to the discovery of decomposing corpses in Abia State, the presidential candidate called the situation “bone-chilling” and “extremely cruel.”

Obi said the discovery “reflects how insecure our environment has been” and “unearths how insecurity has continued to ravage many parts of the country, taking innocent lives and killing the economy.”

He praised Dr. Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State, for making a “bold step” to combat insecurity in the region. As the governor of Anambra State in 2013, he also remembered dealing with a comparable circumstance.

“I got the sad news of about 35 decaying bodies floating on Ezu River, Anambra, while I was escorting President Goodluck Jonathan to an official engagement outside the nation,” Obi stated.

“I had to leave everything to rush back to the State to attend to the situation and ensure that order was restored in the vicinity. Investigation was immediately commenced, with autopsies conducted, before the Federal Government took over the process and asked the State Government to hands off.”

Obi said that the security of lives and property remains the primary duty of any government and is key to any meaningful development. He, therefore, urged governments at all levels to make more efforts in combating insecurity in the nation.

“We must prioritize security,” Obi said. “We cannot continue to allow our people to live in fear and uncertainty.”

While addressing the media earlier in the week, Abia State Governor Alex Otti had said a large number of decomposed and headless bodies as well as skeletons were discovered in the market located at Lokpanta in Umuchieze.