The Abia State Government has denied the reports that it asked the northern community at Lokpanta, in Umunneochi local government area to move back to the north.
The Special Adviser to Governor Alex Otti, on Security, Retired Navy Commander MacDonald Uba, who disclosed this to newsmen in Umuahia, said the report is untrue and should be disregarded.
Uba also stated that the government has taken steps to stop the spate of kidnapping in the area with the launch of Operation Crush.
He regretted that market dealers at Lokpanta have allowed criminals to take over the market, while the market served as a venue for exchanging kidnap ransom.
The Security Adviser said everything is being done to ensure safety adding that he was happy that no incident of kidnapping has taken place around the area in the past six weeks.