By Jude Atupulazi
The governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2021 Election in Anambra State, Mr Val Ozigbo, has decried what he described as the total collapse of the security architecture in the state under Gov Chukwuma Soludo, leading to incessant kidnapping and killing of people in the state.
Ozigbo was reacting to the protest by lawyers in Anambra State over the fate of their colleagues in the hands of criminals in the state.
It will be recalled that lawyers in Anambra State had sent a Save our Souls (SOS) message to the Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, urging him to step up and arrest the situation.
The lawyers who had already declared a five-day boycott of court proceedings, lamented what they described as a total collapse of security across all areas of Anambra State, bemoaning the needless killing and kidnapping of law-abiding citizens.
They specifically noted the kidnap of a Catholic priest, Fr Basil Gbuzuo (who was later released), and the killing of Barr Peter Awa in Okija; as well as the killing of over 60 people in Ihiala within the last five months.
The lawyers regretted that those criminal activities were no longer restricted to any particular time of the day, calling on Governor Soludo to provide solutions to the lingering insecurity, which, they said, had crippled economic, social and cultural activities in the state.
Their protest was contained in a video clip that went viral on social media.
But reacting to it, Ozigbo said the video echoed part of the messages he had been sending to the Government of Anambra State, who, he said, instead of listening to constructive criticism and looking for real solution, resorted to mudslinging by their errand team.
‘I align with the members of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Anambra State Branch, in making this call. As Edmund Burke put it, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.
‘Anambra citizens must rise to the occasion and speak out so we can sit down to find a solution. The solution to this isn’t rocket science. We have dealt with this better in the past and there are governors dealing with this better at present. Let us humble ourselves to both learn and collaborate. I won’t discuss full solutions here. But I can only assure that a better and more secure Anambra is clearly possible,’ Ozigbo stated.
