By  Franklin Alli

The President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture NACCIMA), Dr. Simon Okolo, yesterday, decried the spate of  kidnaping of businessmen in the South East zone.

“Banks and industries now conduct their daily businesses in constant fear of armed bandits, who pounce on them ceaselessly. Our cities and communities have been turned into death centers by kidnappers, ritualists and child traffickers. So many businessmen have left the area as a result in search of security and peace in other lands,” he lamented.

Okolo, who addressed top businessmen from across the country, yesterday noted that no day passes without people in the zone experiencing one form of violent crime or the other.

He commended the steps being taking so far by government to ensure a better police force for the country, but expressed regret that most of these heinous crimes happen while the roads are heavily guarded by armed policemen.

He said that a lot still needs to be done despite recent government efforts in ensuring that the police tackles decisively the state of insecurity in the South East zone.

The federal, and states government, he further stated, had better come together and provide better weapons and helicopter launch pads for security agent in the zone to help them arrest the spate of kidnaping and armed robbery that have made life short and brutish in the area.