Sometimes it takes something very grave to trigger questions about certain things. The shooting and killing of popular Awka socialite, Mr Isaac Nwosu, a.k.a. Aiza Nwosu, has triggered questions about the preparedness of the Anambra State Government to really combat crime. Nwosu was killed last Sunday evening in Awka by suspected cultists along with another victim in another part of Awka Town.
The latest killings have become part of many such others that have come to define Awka for some years now, without any tangible thing being done by the Anambra State Government to douse them. Today, Awka, the capital of Anambra State, is at a crossroads. Once known for its calm streets, bustling Eke Awka Market, and the quiet dignity of a civil service town, the city is now contending with a wave of criminality that is testing the patience of residents and businesses alike.
From phone snatching at the junction by UNIZIK Gate, to midnight break-ins in Nibo and Amawbia, to the growing fear of kidnapping along the Enugu-Awka-Onitsha Expressway, the stories are no longer isolated. They are becoming the daily conversation in buses, in shops, and on WhatsApp groups.
When people stop feeling safe walking home at 7pm, when traders close early, when parents are afraid to let their children attend evening lessons, we have more than a crime problem. We have a trust problem.
Sadly, there seems to be no appropriate response from the State Government and it has clearly failed one, in big area which would have boosted crime prevention and detection and that is the failure to install CCTV cameras which the neighbouring state of Enugu has since deployed in combating crime. Indeed, whereas CCTV cameras are in virtually every pole in Enugu City, Awka streets are loud in their total absence.
CCTV brings a lot to the table such as deterrence. Criminals thrive in darkness and anonymity. The simple presence of visible cameras on major roads – Zik Avenue, Aroma, Ngozika Estate, and around markets – forces a second thought. Lagos, Abuja, and even Onitsha have shown that when offenders know they can be identified, opportunistic crime drops.
Evidence and Investigation: The Anambra State Police Command and the state vigilante are doing their best with limited tools. But investigations stall when there are no witnesses and no footage. CCTV provides time-stamped, verifiable evidence that helps police track vehicles, identify suspects, and prosecute cases, instead of relying only on testimony.
Traffic and Emergency Response: Beyond crime, cameras help manage Awka’s worsening traffic, monitor accidents, and coordinate faster ambulance and fire service response. One system can serve multiple public safety needs.
Economic confidence: Investors, students, and diaspora returnees are watching. A city that invests in public safety, signals that it is serious about growth. Eke Awka, the new government house axis, and the emerging tech hubs around the capital, need that signal.
Solving the criminality problem via installation of CCTVs cannot be another white elephant project. Awka does not need decorative cameras that never work. Therefore, there is need for a smart, networked system linked to a Central Command room at the Government House and the Police HQs, with backup power and cloud storage.
The areas of priority should be major junctions, markets, schools, hospitals, bank vicinities, and the expressway entry/exit points, before extending it to residential areas.
This can be powered through public-private partnership, with the state government leading, and partnering with traders’ associations, landlords, telecoms, and corporate bodies to fund maintenance.
Footage must be used only for security and traffic management, with oversight to prevent abuse. Citizens deserve safety and privacy.
Further delay is dangerous because every week it is delayed, another business relocates, another student is robbed, another family considers leaving, and another citizen’s life is snuffed out. Fear is expensive. It kills night life, it kills investment, it kills community.
CCTV will not solve every problem. We still need better street lighting, youth employment, community policing, and faster justice. But it is the fastest, most visible step the state can take to restore citizen confidence in its capital city.
While Governor Soludo’s Administration can be said to have made bold moves on infrastructure and urban renewal, security infrastructure must be next.
Awka deserves to be a capital where one can close late at the market, where okada riders don’t have to fear ambush, and where parents don’t pray twice before their children go out.
It’s time to put eyes on the streets by installing cameras that work, cameras that watch and cameras that will help the government and citizens to take Awka back. Awka, as the capital city, does not deserve anything less.
