…Soludo, CP, under Fire
In Anambra, the noise of a faulty exhaust pipe from a moving vehicle is likely to trigger panic among passers-by, while it will only take one person running towards others to cause pandemonium. This is no thanks to a new wave of insecurity currently sweeping through Prof Chukwuma Soludo’s Anambra State, with many residents of the state blaming the Governor and the new Commissioner of Police, CP Nnaghe Obono Itam, for not doing enough.
Though there have always been insecurity in the state, the current wave started not long after the immediate past Commissioner of Police, Mr Aderemi Adeoye, retired. Aderemi had during his time, stood his feet firmly on the ground to the point of battling some elite of Awka kingdom who were rumoured of being among the sponsors of cultism, reports Ikeugonna Eleke, with additional report from Jude Atupulazi.
Between the Sunday of July 14 and the succeeding week, no fewer than eight youths were killed, in what was identified as cult related killings.
On Sunday, 7th of July which was dubbed 7/7, a day many cultists celebrated their confraternity, the Anambra State Police Command had the previous day, issued a press release warning against any such celebration in the state. The release which was signed by the Command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the Command would not tolerate any gathering of such elements, while also warning that barowners and hotel operators who lent their space to such elements would be dealt with.
One would think that with such warning, the command had made adequate arrangements to police the state, but on the same Sunday, three people were reportedly killed in the state capital, Awka.
A senior journalist who preferred not to be named, who witnessed one of the killings said: ‘I was outside the gate of my compound, getting prepared to leave the house, when my landlady accosted me and we got talking. Suddenly, a black SUV car with tinted glasses slowly drove past us. If you know where I am living, you will know that erosion is a problem there. So after my compound, you will meet just one more compound and then you meet a dead end where erosion cut off the road.
‘As the vehicle drove by, my landlady started calling the driver of the vehicle to tell them that the road they were headed had been cut off by erosion. I told my landlady to leave them, that once they got to the bad spot, they would come back. We were still talking when we heard gunshots. We all ran into the compound and the same vehicle drove past and went away. When the dust settled, it turned out that it was a boy who sold beer in front of the next compound that they had shot dead. That experience spoilt my Sunday and I didn’t go out any longer,’ he said.
On the next day which was Monday, one person was also reportedly gunned down in Awka.
Within the week, there were also unverified stories of secret killings, but on Saturday, two youths were reportedly gunned down. One happened around Emma Nnaemeka Street and his assailants cut off one of his hands and made away with it. On Sunday too, just as this reporter was packaging this report, news filtered in that two persons had also been gunned down in cult related killings.
Beyond cult killings which seem to have defied solution from government, Awka indigenes and security agencies, kidnapping has become a major fear in Awka and other parts of the state.
In what looked like a brazen show of daredevilry, over four cases of kidnapping were registered in Anambra State in one day, Saturday, June 13, a figure that eventually rose to ten.
Our correspondent gathered that at about 2pm on Saturday, gunmen operating in a black Sienna vehicle, stopped a lone driver of a Lexus 350 SUV at gunpoint and ordered him down from his car and into theirs. The incident was captured in an amateur footage that later went viral. One of the gunmen who was hooded, took to the wheels of the victim’s car and drove behind his gang members, while they shot into the air sporadically to instill fear in people and then escaped. Sources said the incident happened close to the popular Wintess Hotel at Ifite, Awka, which is a little away from Nnamdi Azikiwe University’s back gate.
A source from the same area said shortly after, and without fear of being arrested, the same men in same car trailed another occupant of a Lexus 350 salon, black in colour, and picked him without challenge. The source said unlike the first operation where they shot in the air to instill fear in the people of the area, this time they leisurely drove away after picking the victim, without a shot, while abandoning the victim’s vehicle on the road.
Two other incidents that happened on the same Saturday at night were in Oraukwu and Nimo Communities, respectively.
‘In Oraukwu, the man was trailed and abducted, and his Lexus 350 SUV abandoned on the road, while in the Nimo incident, a petrol station owner, who was said to be driving home with a friend who often helped out at the petrol station, was accosted by gunmen.
‘The friend was shot dead and the owner of the station was abducted and taken to an unknown location,’ an indigene of the town who preferred to remain anonymous told Fides.
While many are blaming the police for the insecurity, some have dumped the blame on the doorsteps of the governor.
A former governorship candidate of the state, Mr Valentine Ozigbo, while reacting to insecurity in the state, said Soludo had failed the state. He however added that instead of four incidents of kidnap that Saturday, there were actually 10 cases, and he had gone on to list them all.
Ozigbo said: ‘Anambra is no longer at ease. From Awka through Ekwulobia to Ihiala, it is same story of abductions of citizens.
‘To therefore say the security architecture in Anambra has collapsed is to state the very obvious. Yesterday’s (Saturday’s) 10 separate abductions across the state speak volumes of the sorry state of security in Anambra. They include two each in Ifite Awka and Agulu-Adazi-Oraukwu Road; one in Nimo; two along Ichida-Neni-Igboukwu axis; one along Afor Nkpor Road and an attempted kidnap case around E dey Work, Nnewi Road.
‘While the state burns, Prof Chukwuma Soludo is busy harassing poor market women and drivers in the name of tax and revenue collection.
‘Ndi Anambra are tired of excuses and name calling. The current situation is dire and demands urgent and immediate action. Let Soludo come off his high horse and apply a solution. I call on Soludo to drop all pretences and do the needful which is ensuring the security of those under his care. Anambra is broken and needs serious mending,’ Ozigbo said.
Another former governorship candidate and a chieftain of Labour Party, Mr Oseloka Obaze, during a strategy meeting on Sunday in Awka with members of his political group, TeamOHO, lamented too that Anambra under Soludo had broken irretrievably.
He said: ‘As regards our home state, Anambra, we thought 2014 to 2022 (under Willie Obiano) was bad; but things have gotten worse since 2023 (under Soludo). There is no solution in sight. Anambra was broken and needed to be fixed. Despite high promises of Dubai and Taiwan, Anambra has regressed in terms of security, quality of life and good governance. The present leadership, despite all pretences is not living up to their promises and must as such be voted out.’
A private individual in the state, Mr Tony Okafor, rather urged Soludo to immediately put his security vote to good use and bring solution to the lingering problem of insecurity in the state.
He said: ‘The escalating insecurity in Anambra State demands immediate and decisive action from the state governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo. We urge him to utilize his security votes to address this crisis.
‘Past governors have set a precedent, utilizing security funds to procure vital equipment and vehicles for law enforcement agencies. Anambra State residents cry out for protection and reassurance. The governor must harness his security votes to bolster law enforcement presence; enhance intelligence gathering capabilities; support community policing initiatives; provide resources for swift and effective response and rescue operations.
‘Soludo’s leadership and resolve are being tested. We urge him to rise to the occasion, utilize his security votes and other resources, and restore peace to Anambra State. The people’s trust and safety depend on it. Let us unite in demanding a safer Anambra where citizens can live without fear.’
Another indigene of the state, Mr Lawrence Ibemesi, who resides in Awka, has a different view. He thinks the criminals, especially cultists, are taking advantage of the exit of the former Police Commissioner, Mr Aderemi Adeoye, and the newness of CP Enaghe Obono Itam, to do what they couldn’t do previously.
He said: ‘We don’t know what is happening in Awka any longer. Security people need to sit up because we can no longer understand these killings and kidnapping here and there. I think this is happening because Aderemi Adeoye is no longer here. I don’t know who the new Commissioner of Police is, so I can’t tell what his capacity is. But I know how Adeoye fought cultism in Awka, including some very prominent people who were aiding them.
‘At some point, he even arrested a prominent indigene of this town. I don’t know this new commissioner, and I haven’t heard much of him, so I think the criminal elements are using the opportunity of the exit of Adeoye to now do what they couldn’t do previously.’
Dangerous trend of stealing corpses
In Awka particularly, most of the youths who are felled daily for cult related activities don’t get the opportunity of a funeral any longer.
A source told Fides that the usual confiscation of corpses of dead cultists by police had caused families to devise new strategies.
‘All these young people that are killed daily don’t get the opportunity of a funeral. What is happening is that once a youth is killed, their cult members or members of the family quickly rush and take away the corpse, dig a shallow grave and bury them immediately. That is why sometimes, police don’t even have records of some of this killings.
‘They do this because, failure to do so, the police will confiscate the corpse in the guise of conducting investigation and that may just be the end. It is a dangerous trend, but families have no option,’ the source volunteered.
Reacting to the news of kidnappings, the State Police Command in a press release on Sunday confirmed the kidnap at Ifite, of an unidentified SUV driver on Saturday afternoon.
The State Police Command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, in the release, said: ‘The Commissioner of Police, Anambra State, CP Nnaghe Obono Itam, states that efforts are ongoing to arrest the assailants and rescue the victims of the abduction.
‘Police responding team recovered the victims’ vehicles and has emplaced Joint Security Measures/Operational positioning to forestall such or related incident in the state,’ the statement read.
He however kept mum on other cases of kidnapping that happened on same day. When Fides enquired about the reported cult killings in Awka, Ikenga denied knowledge of any, and called on this reporter to come forward with evidence of the killings.
Amid the chaos, it was also reported that no fewer than six persons were reportedly kidnapped by suspected Fulani herdsmen at Dubai Estate in the Awka Capital City in the last three weeks.
It was equally gathered that four out of the six victims paid a total of N75 million as ransom before they were released.
According to residents in the area the suspected herdsmen operate along Federal Road Safety Corps from the Onitsha – Awka- Enugu Express Way into the Dubai Estate.
At the Dubai Estate near NNPC Station, connecting Dozzy Estate and Four-Way Junction before the second gate of Ngozika Estate, the herdsmen kidnapped a Professor who allegedly paid the sum of N31 million, while a young man driving a Toyota Highlander who had rented a house was kidnapped along with his fiancee and the sum of N45 million was allegedly paid as ransom.
Also, a boy and two girls were kidnapped by the suspected herdsmen and it is not clear if they have been released or any ransom paid.
It was also reported that a Toyota Camry salon that was burnt in front of a fuel station along the expressway belonged to a young man who fled from his car when the suspected Kidnappers tried to abduct him.
The gunmen allegedly shot at the car and it went up in flames while the boy ran into a building in the area for safety.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the Command was on top of the investigation but pleaded that it was not proper to begin to expose the undercover operations of the Command as it would jeopardize intelligence gathering.
He would later tell Fides that the Command intercepted the voice note made by a yet unidentified individual of alleged abduction/kidnapping incident in Awka and had made deliberate security arrangements to nip in the bud such an incident or any other in the state capital.
‘The Command encourages the victims to come forward to assist us with information for an investigation,’ he said.
At the moment residents of the area now going home early in order not to be caught napping by the suspected herders.
Also, the residents take the second route to Dubai Estate through Ngozika Estate for safety, while motorists avoid stopping passengers at the Dubai Estate Junction from 7pm.
According to a shuttle driver, ‘I dropped two persons at that junction and as I was about moving they started shouting at me to stop and carry them, as, according to them, a woman was taken away by some people with guns and another person was on the ground in a pool of blood.’
As the killings and kidnappings continue, it is apparent that the state is under siege.
