ENUGU—THE South-East region has for close to four years been under the siege of criminal elements who held the five states in the region hostage.
They hid under different nomenclatures- unknown gunmen, autopilot, IPoB, ESN, to commit heinous crimes. They killed thousands of people, destroyed properties worth billions of naira, declared illegal sit-at-home, and violently enforced them; thousands were kidnapped, and ransom that ran into billions of naira was extorted from them.
These criminals were completely in charge. In the rural communities, they constituted the authority, giving orders and instructions that were obeyed by the helpless members of the communities. They controlled the rural and semi-urban communities while the elected legal authorities managed to control the cities and oftentimes they strolled into the cities to cause havoc and escape. Life was hell, brutish, and unbearable for the people of the region.
However, respite came to the people of Enugu and Abia states when they had new administrations in May 2023. The new governments took drastic measures to restore some level of sanity, but it was not yet Uhuru. With the actions of the governors of Abia and Enugu, the hoodlums relocated to Imo, Anambra, and Ebonyi states, with Imo and Anambra as the hotbed. The boundary communities of Anambra and Imo were completely taken over by the criminals and the residents fled their homes.
The hopeless situation, particularly in Anambra, lingered until last month when Governor Soludo rose to his almost abandoned responsibility and took the criminal elements head-on. He launched a security operation named Udo ga achi (peace must reign) and a security outfit, Agunechemba (the lion that guards the people) to bring the much-needed peace. He signed the Homeland Security Law 2025 on January 18, 2025. The key components of the law are the establishment of Agunechemba security outfit, to assist and complement federal security forces; the deployment of technology, including tracking systems, command-and-control systems, and AI-powered surveillance cameras, the establishment of a State Call Centre with toll-free lines, among encouraging incentives.
Before the launch of the security outfit, the state was drifting towards an ungovernable space with frequent kidnapping incidents and increasing activities of fake native doctors, who have converted virtually all streams in the state as centers of fetish worship where they lured gullible people, with promises of instant wealth and travelling to foreign countries with ease.
It has become a common sight to see nude men and women carrying goats on their shoulders in the streams, with voices in the background, telling them to name what they wish for themselves.
It was gathered that these people usually pay large sums of money to the native doctors, who usually entice them by listing the names and the number of people that had become rich through them. Worried by these ugly developments, the state government decided that enough was enough.
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So, soon after the launch of the new security outfit, things began to happen in various parts of the state. With information about Agunechemba spreading across the state, the crime rate appears to have drastically reduced.
The frequent cult activities in Awka have reduced considerably. Kidnappings are no longer a daily affair. And with the operatives descending on the native doctors and questionable pastors, the state is becoming calm.
In the words of the Director of Operations for Agunechemba Security Outfit, Chinenye Ihenko: “The activities of fake native doctors and pastors are promoting a get-rich-quick syndrome mentality in the state. The mandate we have is to sanitize the state and we are on course. Anything contributing in one way or the other towards the desecration of the state and aiding criminal activities will surely give way; that we can assure Anambra people.” Indeed in their short period of operation, appreciable success has been recorded even though few human errors have been recorded too.
Soludo laments the level of moral decadence among youths
“We are so shocked by the way the youths of these days are taking humans. Many people had in the past been kidnapped and ransom paid and they were released. But the youths of this day kidnap and kill their victims even when they have collected ransom. We must condemn what they are doing and it must stop, we will not allow them to continue their wickedness.
“Some people are condemning the Agunechemba security outfit we set up, and even calling me names but we don’t care about what they are saying. Anambra must be secured; it must be the most secure state in Nigeria. The people condemning Agunechemba security are the people who celebrate those working with kidnappers and armed robbers who terrorize us.
“We are not against traditional worship because there is freedom of religion in our constitution, but if you are preparing charms and doing other fetish things to protect kidnappers and armed robbers, we will never allow you to operate here. The kidnappers have crossed the line and we are after them now.”
Soludo’s approach is good, but no innocent person should be victimised — Ahamba
Chief Mike Ahamba, SAN, welcomed the Anambra approach to tackling insecurity but cautioned that no innocent person should suffer victimization. Chief Ahamba insisted that government and security agencies should not swoop on anyone when there is an iota of doubt about involvement in crime. He noted that laws against kidnapping have always been there, adding that the difference is the will for implementation, as the Soludo administration is doing. Ahamba wondered how a place that is predominantly Christian has turned so fetish.
“Laws against kidnapping and other crimes have always been there. Maybe, the difference is that Soludo is all out for its implementation. They should make sure that there is no iota of doubt before going for anybody.”
No place in Abia for criminals fleeing from Anambra —Govt
While Abia State is not thinking of adopting the Anambra approach, they said they are ever on alert over the possibility of fleeing criminals entering Abia. The Security Adviser to Governor Alex Otti, Commander MacDonald Ubah (retd.) declared that “Abia has no haven” for such unscrupulous elements.
Commander Ubah told SEV that Abia has put in place top-notch security measures to ensure that the fleeing criminals do not settle on Abia soil. According to him, the state is leaving nothing to chance. He said Abia State is closely monitoring developments in Anambra and would fish out any criminal trying to hide in Abia. He said covert security operations are going on “which are not for public consumption”, aimed at smoking out criminal elements who attempt to hide in any part of Abia.
“There is no haven for the fleeing criminals in Abia. We know where they are going, and we will follow them there to fish them out”, he vowed.
Ubah noted that the efforts of the Abia State Government to flush out criminals, especially around the Umunneochi axis that shares borders with Anambra State had paid off.
Former lawmaker lauds Soludo’s approach
A former Abia lawmaker who represented Umunneochi State Constituency, Hon. Ikedi Ezekwesiri, agreed that security has improved in Abia but advised that vigilance be maintained to ensure that criminals pursued in neighbouring Anambra do not find their way to Abia.
Ezekwesiri, who was a victim of an attack by the criminals in the Umunneochi axis, said that the Abia State Government must not necessarily adopt the Anambra approach “as there are so many ways to kill a rat.
“Much as I don’t condemn entirely what is happening in Anambra State, I also know that we are to be more civil here. Yes, there is a high probability that some of those criminals from Anambra can enter Abia and some other neighbouring states, so it calls for vigilance on the part of natives. When you see somebody who is not familiar with the environment, report immediately to the nearest security post. If you see anybody you don’t understand his movement, accost him and if his answer is not satisfactory, don’t waste time, report immediately. People should be alert.”
Imo, other states should adopt Anambra approach to provide security —Nwadike
A former presidential candidate, Batos Nwadike, urged the Imo State Government and other states in the region to look at the legal backing that Anambra State Government adopted to fight insecurity.
Nwadike, who contested in 2011 under the platform of the Peoples Mandate Party, PMP, said the Anambra security law is addressing the root cause of insecurity. “This is good because Soludo and Anambra State House of Assembly have tried to make a far-reaching law to curb the tap root of insecurity in our land, which is the craze to get-rich- quik without effort.
“However, Imo and other states can move the frontier further by making such laws more exhaustive. When I was running as president in 2011, one of my major planks in curbing insecurity in our country was to give legal backing as Anambra has done to the sanctions on the root causes of the malaise.
“So now we can move further by making the law more exhaustive. With that, insecurity, which has become an ATM to the perpetrators, will drastically reduce,” Nwadike said.
Life is gradually returning to deserted Imo communities
Although the Imo State Government has named what it is doing to ensure that the fleeing criminals from Anambra do not flock to the state, security agencies in the state have assured that no criminal would have peace in the state and are encouraging people who fled their communities, particularly in Orsu Council, to return assuring that their communities are now safe. They met and interacted with stakeholders of the communities and encouraged them to return home and resume their normal lives.
The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, Aboki Danjuma, was accompanied by the Local Government Chairman, Hon. Engr. Friday Ibekaeme, the Honourable Member representing Orsu at the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Uche Agabige and his management team. They visited key areas including Eke Ututu Market, Ihiteukwa, Okwu Amaraihe, Awo-Idemili, Ihitenansa, and Amaruru, reassuring locals, including youth leaders, and community stakeholders that a secure environment awaits their homecoming.
We are on alert, to checkmate criminals running into Ebonyi —Police
The Ebonyi State Public Relations Officer (PPRO) DSP Joshua Ukandu said that the command is using its discreet intelligence to check criminals running from Anambra State into the state and urged the members of the public to always volunteer information to help the police to combat crime in the state.
According to him: “We have detailed our discreet intelligence to monitor their activities. It is not something we can do alone because some of these criminals moved into the villages to hide and operate from there. So, we need information from the villagers to nail them.
“We are aware of what is happening in other places and we have detailed our intelligence and crack team police to gather necessary information to get at the criminals when they sneak into the communities and the state.”
