*Says they are known, not unknown persons
Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra has stated that gunmen no longer have the capacity to carry out deadly attacks as usual in the state.
He also said that contrary to the belief, those perpetrating crimes in the state are know, not people from the moon or unknown gunmen, as being alluded.
Soludo, a professor of economics and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), told Channels Television’s Politics Today, Sunday, that his administration has however, successfully brought the security threats in the state to the lowest level.
“Giving where things were when we came, we are not saying that Anambra is 100% secured … but everybody in Anambra – the 8.5 million residents of Anambra can testify to you that insecurity in Anambra has come down to the barest minimum,” he said.
“Fifteen camps (run by gunmen) here (have been) decimated. Even yesterday (Saturday), some other places (where) they were gathering were decimated; we have degraded their infrastructure and I don’t think they have the capacity again to come with the kind of ferocity they had in the past.”
*Professor Soludo.
He maintained that those perpetrating criminalities in the state are Igbo.
He added that contrary to claims, those perpetrating criminalities are known and not unknown as being reported in the media.
“They are plain criminals. Some of these criminals also hide under the cloak of agitation but IPOB has repeatedly distanced itself from the criminals.
They are kidnappers and plain criminals and they indulge in these because it is lucrative. Anambra is without a doubt the richest state in the South-East so this is the state where kidnapping has the highest value and so you will have their highest concentration here.
“If you have an Okada rider who goes into the bush; learns how to shoot, and joins a criminal gang after which they kidnap someone and make millions, it won’t be easy convincing such to go back to his Okada business anymore.
“But we are decimating them. They are not unknown gunmen, they are unknown to the extent that maybe are not caught immediately.
“But I can tell you we’ve been catching quite a lot of them and they already know that Anambra is not safe for them anymore.
“Let me be clear about it, 100 per cent of the people we have caught are Igbo. There is no hoax that somebody is invading from somewhere. It is 100 per cent Igbo on Igbo.
“Anambra receives its proportional share of an influx of Igbo from other South-East states and other parts of Nigeria.
“At the initial stage when we stage and the first set of people we caught are Igbo from the South-East states and not from Anambra.
“But as we went on, we discovered that a whole lot of the youth are joining them and we have not disguised among them, we are dealing with them equally,” the governor said.
He noted that in most cases, the assailants target police facilities and offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), among other government properties in the state.
He thanked the security forces and the vigilante groups for their gallantry, as well as the residents for their cooperation in curbing crimes in the state.
“Anambra has been relatively quiet and peaceful, and we are pursuing this agenda,” said the governor. “I would dare to say that if we were to have the statistics over the last three months, I think Anambra will compare favourably as one of the safest comparatively.”
