20 May 2009 |
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WITH dare-devil criminals especially kidnappers' menacing activities on the rise, Anambra is no longer “Home For All Good people” contrary to the State's slogan, it can be reveal. Most residents and visitors alike now sleep with one eye open, while others have fled their homes, raising concerns over efficient security of lives. Worried by this trend, members of the Awka Development Union (ADU) on May 2, 2009, rose from an emergency meeting in Lagos with a consensus an agenda to revive community policing in Anambra State which had recorded an unprecedented crime wave in recent times. Their resolve to protect themselves came on the heels of escalating and recurring cases of kidnapping and violent crimes which have left Anambrarians in fear of the unknown. Specifically, over 30 persons have reportedly been abducted in the state with ransom demands of as high as N100million in the last three months but according to the Civil Liberty Organisation, over 500 cases of kidnapping has been recorded in the state within the last three years. Also, a surge in criminality over the past few weeks has caused many indigenes of the state to flee homes, while those resident elsewhere now fear to visit. Two successive attacks on April 20 and 30, 2009, where a group of suspected robbers stormed the state armed with sophisticated weapons unleashing worst terror ever witnessed in the state. No fewer than nine people, including an expectant mother, three policemen and four other civilians were reported dead in the mayhem. Residents sadly are now living in panic and shy away from discussing victims' ordeals in the hand of the criminals. But Chris Dibor, an indigene of Awka in Anambra State, said the decision of the people to protect themselves was an indication that the people may have lost faith in the government as a lot of people are now afraid to return home. “Now people just roam around the street and think of robbing a bank or kidnapping people. When things like this happen it has major effects on the security and a multiplier effect on the economy of that place. A lot of young people from Awka are very scared to go home and these are people that used to come home to spend money to do something. It seems as if the government is not on top of matters here,” he said. The government in response stated that the recent crimes in the state were being orchestrated by politicians in their bid to grab power at all cost. Meanwhile, the Governor Peter Obi APGA-led government in Anambra State is pointing accusing fingers at the opposition party as the last incident happened on a day the People's Democratic Party (PDP) had a function. “From our current investigations and commonsense summary, we think it is politically motivated or so to say because if you recall we have been bragging ourselves as one of the most secured states in Nigeria. The last incident was particularly unnerving because it's like a professionally orchestrated thing that we never saw in this part of the world before. Even though some people are saying it is armed robbery, the end product was a shoot-out at the PDP office at Udoka Estate and we hear that that was the same day that the Emordi-led faction of the PDP was coming home to take over the reins of PDP power here. So it is worrisome,” Prof. Stella Okunna, the Commissioner for Information revealed.
The state, because of its slogan, “Home For All,” perhaps has flung the doors open a little too wide for undesirable elements to intrude, harass and threaten the peace that Anambrarians had witnessed for sometime following a prolonged political and legal muscle-flexing between the ruling All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the other parties in the state. But the recent increase in the activities of criminals in the state may be bringing back to the indigenes, memories of the dark days which made the then PDP-led government to invite the much-dreaded Anambra Vigilante Services a.k.a “Bakassi Boys” that rid the streets of hoodlums albeit criticisms from different human rights organisations. With the magnitude of the crimes recorded especially kidnapping and armed robberies since late last year, the bad old days may have returned, despite the government's claim that it has tackled the problem. “Anambra State is safe and was safe before these politically motivated crimes started and we have moved in to curb it so I will tell you categorically that Anambra State is safe. Foreigners come here as well as diplomats also come. It was just these past few weeks that hoodlums came here to orchestrate a crime wave that is political and because they had planed that, the next day they were moving motions in the National Assembly to declare a state of Emergency in Anambra State when states like Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta are still there. This is inhuman,” Okunna declared. According to the President-General of the ADU, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwogbo, who was recently kidnapped and released, the crime was noticed in the state late last year. “I am not a policeman but I know that the worry and major apprehension about these kidnappings registered late last year; it has been happening in pockets but late last year registered on people's minds when the President of ADU in Lagos was kidnapped. That made it clear that it wasn't just stories but was real. The high point was when I was kidnapped myself on the 18th of April this year in front of my house at about 7.30pm at Awka, Anambra State. It was a very traumatic experience for me and finding yourself in that kind of situation knowing that you have not done any harm to anybody and hearing people asking some ridiculous amount that probably you have never seen in your life for your safety is very pathetic. They were initially asking for N100million and I wondered where I could get that kind of money. But, I thank God that I was able to come out of the problem,” he narrated. Investigations reveal that more than 30 cases of kidnapping may have occurred in the state in the past six months though many of the crimes were not reported to the police. The victim's family prefers to negotiate with the hoodlums for the safety of their loved ones rather than involve the police. Our investigations revealed that kidnap incidents have been recorded in the towns of Awka, Onitsha, Nawfia, Nnnewi, Enugwu-Ugwu, Ogidi, Nibo and other parts of the 21 local government councils in the state. Some of the reported cases included that of Mrs. Ifeyinwa Oli, a relation to the traditional ruler of Nawfia, HRH Igwe Chijioke Nwankwo, who was abducted from the comfort of her home at Enugwu-Ukwu on Monday March 2, 2009 and taken to an unoccupied building owned by Tagbo Onyekwelu at Nawfia. A ransom of N25million was demanded which was later negotiated down to N2million which they were to pick up at the Awka branch of Zenith Bank. “Unknown to them security men, as well as some boys from the town, were strategically positioned at the bank waiting for the girl they said they would send but surprisingly two boys came on a bike. They were smart enough to observe the environment when my brother stepped out to hand over the money which they intended to snatch and run away,” said Igwe Nwankwo. However they chose to flee but were followed with another bike which trailed them to an uncompleted building at Nawfia where some of the gang members, on seeing them, took to their heels. The door was broken to free the abducted woman whose mouth and hands were tied. On another visit to the building, two boys were caught but though they claimed to be security operatives, they were handed over to the state police headquarters. Information gathered has it that the gang of 18 is responsible for all the kidnappings and robberies in Njikoka Local Government Area down to Ogidi town. Similarly Mr. Obi Igwedibe, a politician and campaign coordinator of Senator Annie Okonkwo narrowly escaped the group's wrath at Umuokpu town. Igwedibe was trailed from his relative's house up to Nawfia and back to Umuokpu where the hoodlums opened fire on his car for failing to stop when they hit the vehicle. One bullet pierced the car and hit him on the waist before he stopped and took cover in the gutter. The hoodlums followed him to that point, but the decision to "waste" him was rejected by one of them who claimed that their bullet had been exhausted. The gang made away with the politicians handsets leaving him in the pool of his own blood after shattering the car tyres. Another pathetic case was that of a young man identified as Obinna, a staff of Neimeth Pharmaceuticals in Lagos State who had travelled down to attend a friend's wedding at Awka as the Best Man but was abducted shortly after the wedding. A ransom of N9million was initially demanded after which they settled for a lesser amount. After the money was paid, the victim who was the only son of his parents regained his freedom and had since returned to base with a vow not near his home state for a long time. Also the Enemuos had a taste of the kidnapping pill when their 66-year-old mother was abducted from the family house at Awka. The kidnappers requested an outrageous sum of N30million from her children to release their mother. One of the victim's sons, Maduka Enemuo who works with the School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the United States (U.S.) disclosed that the family passed through an ordeal following the incident which happened on April 28 of this year. “I nearly choked on my lunch when my brother called to inform me that my 66-year-old mother was kidnapped from her bedroom in the middle of the night under gun point. When I recovered enough to think, I became worried not just about what she may be going through at that moment, but also what she will have to deal with after this traumatic event. Like rape, kidnapping violates all the peace one has felt throughout life. The kidnappers demanded 30 million naira for my mom to be released. My family and extended family with me in Las Vegas turned to prayers that the event would not leave my mother with a permanent scare of fear. We were also worried about her health as she did not take her prescription medicines with her. We reported the kidnapping to law enforcement which we believed is the right thing to do. In any society, such incidents are better handled as a community problem rather that as an individual problem. It may have been my mother that day, it may have been my family's pain during that incident but I am sure many families have gone through that pain before and many more if no collective action is taken. Law enforcement was eager and willing to help but incapacitated by lack of facilities, equipments and training to handle such a hideous crime. Response to such crimes as kidnappings, are usually handled through detective work rather that open police activity. The community must come together to root out individuals in the community who embark or harbor such activity. In my mother's case, it was obvious the kidnappers kept my mother blindfolded for nearly a week within the Awka capital territory,” the son narrated from his U.S. base in a mail interview The high point of the kidnapping series occurred when a member of the House of Assembly, Hon. Joe Dimobi representing Aniocha constituency was abducted. Many more cases of kidnapping it was gathered went unreported to the police. From Nwogbo's experience, we gathered, that once a victim is abducted they are taken to unknown hideouts usually unfinished buildings in neighbouring towns from where calls are put through to the victim's family. “Their victims are beaten; they beat you. They want to instill fear into you so they try to intimidate you by beating the hell out of you. I was held for two and a half days. They volunteered to feed me but I didn't accept the offer,” Nwogbo revealed saying that the perpetrators were young men that wore normal clothes but had sophisticated AK-47 rifles. The superiority of the weapons used by these gangs over that of the police worries most indigenes about the competence of the government to take on the criminals head on. According to official reports on the mayhem unleashed on April 20, a group of well-equipped armed robbers numbering about 30 in three vehicles waylaid/ambushed a bullion van and its security escorts, conveying money to one of the old-generation banks in Awka from Onitsha to Nnewi, around Ojoto. The security agents engaged the hoodlums in cross-fire, leading to eight casualties: three police men and five civilians. Following a hot chase, a combined team of soldiers and police at the Nnobi/Ideani point again engaged the suspected criminals in cross-fire and a soldier lost his life along with a Truck driver who was felled by stray bullets which flew indiscriminately and sporadically around the area. Nine days later, another gang of robbers in four vehicles including a sports utility vehicle (SUV) driven by an unidentified lady, pursued another bullion van in a commando-style onslaught, attacked the headquarters of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad at Awkuzu, Amawbia, through the NNPC Mega Station at Awka. The robbery attempt was unsuccessful due to the bravery of the driver who escaped with the van and left the hoodlums firing at random in a manner that left a pregnant woman dead at Awkuzu while an unsuspecting commuter bus driver was hit and killed at the NNPC Mega Station. It was reported widely that about 50 people were killed but a statement by the Acting Commissioner of Police put the number of casualties both on civilians and law enforcement officers at nine in both foiled operations. The ferocity with which the unnerving attacks and crimes were carried out and the police inability to tackle the increasing crime rate may have led to the redeployment of the state's Commissioner of Police Mohammed M. Abbas and his second in command, Mr. Amusa Bello, a Deputy Commissioner of Police has taken over in acting capacity. “There was a lot of clamour from people and the civil organizations like the CLO and other human rights bodies for the man to be redeployed,” Okunna, the Information commissioner confirmed and gave a vote of confidence in the new police chief, “We have a new commissioner of police here who is really poised to do really do exploits in the state. When he was the Deputy Commissioner, he did wonderful things here and many people believe that if he were the CP, what you are talking about now would have been history. So rising cases of crime which we don't believe is pure armed robbery or insecurity, we are quickly moving fast to curb that and capture the peace we once had in the state.” Some of the criminal activities perpetuated in the state in recent times, especially the kidnappings it was gathered from government sources, had more political motives than envisaged. “The Kidnappings witnessed last year was what we termed Family Kidnapping; a wealthy member of the family who others felt he is not bringing out the money will conspire and have the person kidnapped, that's what we heard from our investigations, so he could spend some of that money they feel he is hoarding. There were also bizarre cases where a female student from a wealthy home will conspire with the boyfriend to hide her or “kidnap” her so that the father will pay the ransom. If you ask the CP, virtually all those cases were discovered. Kidnapping is just creeping into the state,” Okunna informed, “It was just these past few weeks that hoodlums came here to orchestrate a crime wave that is political and because they had planed that, the next day they were moving motions in the National Assembly to declare a state of Emergency in Anambra State when states like Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta are still there. This is inhuman. But the police pointed accusing fingers at politicians as inciting the criminal incidents. According to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, the many atrocities committed were from aggrieved political thugs who felt used by politicians. “During the stakeholders meeting in the state at the Women Development Centre Awka, it was x-rayed that some of the causes of the kidnappings stemmed from politics, business rivalry, greed and all others. Sometimes politicians in their bid to outwit the others perpetuate this and arms are in circulation and the jobless people are the targets. Some of these thugs are not settled by these politicians so they go on a revenge mission,” he said. The PPRO who is a Assistant Superintendent of Police also made it clear that cases of kidnapping is on the increase because the people affected do not give information to the police to act on the matter. “One other reason kidnap strives is that people are not favourably disposed to giving information to the police; the society must give information to the police and any information given to the police is treated with almost confidentiality and the new CP has an open door policy to be called,” he assured. When this writer went round various towns in Anambra State, there were visible numbers of police check-points mounted within every 200 metres. Sadly, at some of these check-points, the policemen were observed extorting money from motorists which may be an indicator as to why less arrests are being made. Dibor was critical of the bad behaviour, and said the police needed to concentrate on their primary objective of policing the environment than collecting money from hard-working citizens. “I am aware of a situation where a kidnap happened in Anambra State and the kidnappers were able to drive from Awka through Onitsha and it was only when they got to Delta State that they were apprehended so is it that the police in Delta State are doing that they are not doing in Anambra? This is the matter that I am really concerned about. Therefore I am calling on the Government of Anambra state to step up because it is the constitutional responsibility of the government to make sure that the people are being protected,” he said. But the insinuations coming from other quarters points in the direction of the government’s inability to provide jobs and basic social facilities in the state to engage the youths who are the most vulnerable in involving in crime. The National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr. Okey Nwosu puts the blame on the door of the state government who he accuses of not providing adequate infrastructure and jobs to keep the unemployed youths busy. “The young men and women must be engaged, there may be a lot of wealthy people or security system who may want to recruit these people because if they are engaged or busy you will find out that they will not succumb to crime. You will find out that there are two or more boys driven into crime because of N2, 000. I think the present government are being insensitive to the high number of unemployed youths on the street; the government is completely insensitive,” he said. But the government has dismissed the allegation as a mere political attack and the reasons why there was an employment embargo in the state. “I am amazed at the complaint of poor infrastructures and would have loved to take you round the state to see what we have been doing in providing meaningful projects we have done in the state within the last three years bearing in mind that we are one of the poorest states in the country in terms of allocations received. We don’t have oil and our monthly allocation is about N1.3billion when some other states are getting N27billion and with that our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) was hijacked years by hoodlums and rascals; we are just starting now to reclaim it from them and with the kind of money we are getting, we are developing the state and some people are saying we are not working, I am amazed. For jobs, we have announced recently maybe in the last four months that we are doing a staff audit; I know there has been an embargo on employment because for some time we did not know who was working or who wasn’t. So the staff audit we are doing now we help us tackle that the problem. It has progressed for some time and we announced that once we finish with that we are going to do some recruitment,” Okunna explains. Some of the measures the government has put in place to tackle the increasing crime rates includes signing into law the death penalty for crimes like kidnapping and armed robbery as well as announcing a cash reward of N500, 000 to any individual or group who volunteers information that could lead to the arrest of kidnappers or foil kidnap attempts. Also, the police have revived the vigilante services to further consolidate on the resolve to rid the state of crime. Residents with useful information have been asked to contact police through the hotlines: 07062604848, 07058249066 and 08080959080. With tension still very high politically and indigenes gripped with the fright of the kidnapping syndrome, the government and police have assured that Anambrarians need not worry over the perceived ‘insecurity’ in the state. But the ADU has taken a further stake in the renewed efforts to ensure safety with the commencement of community policing strategies to help curb kidnappings and other criminality to make Anambra State in deed, the supposed “home for all. “
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