Abia State Governor Alex Otti has announced an increase of the N25 million bounty placed on the killers of five soldiers at Obikabia junction in the Aba area of the state to N30 million.

Otti announced this during a meeting with the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Hasan Abubakar, in Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State on Friday, June 7, 2024.

Gunmen had, on May 30, killed five soldiers in an ambush at Obikabia junction in Aba.

The soldiers were killed during a sit-at-home declared by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

The governor said the increase in the bounty came with an additional N5 million from an indigene of the state based in the United States.

Otti said: “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.

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“So I am happy to announce that the bounty has just been upgraded to N30 million, to encourage anyone that will have useful information that will lead to the apprehension of the criminals.”

Governor Otti stated that the state government has also started working with security agencies to ensure that such incidents do not reoccur in the state.

He said the government has been working round the clock to ensure that the state remains safe and secure.

Otti added: “We also want to thank the intelligence service of the DSS, as they dispatched quite some people here to help us to 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.”

The Star