NO MORE THE KIDNAPPERS’ DEN

Before Governor Willie Obiano, who celebrated his one year in office on March 17, took over the leadership of Anambra State, there was high level kidnapping, armed robbery and other criminal activities in the area.
Residents of the state said in those days, not only were they unable to sleep in the night, they also lived in fear during the day. Insecurity got so bad people were picked up from their worship centres. For example, a transport mogul, Chief Godwin Ubaka Okeke, Chairman, G.U.O Transport Company, was kidnapped in Onitsha immediately he drove out of the church gate on a Sunday last year.
On Thursday, February 27, this year, operatives of the Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS), Anambra State, led by its state commander, James Nwafor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) rescued 75-year-old Virginia Uloma Arinze, the mother of Ken Arinze, former Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Tourism in the state, from kidnappers. Madam Arinze was abducted by the suspects on February 21 at Ebenebe in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Again, few months to the election that brought Obiano to power, former deputy governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chudi Nwike, was abducted in the state and found dead in Asaba, Delta State, after several millions of naira were paid as ransom.
Former Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr.Chike Okoli, was abducted and killed despite the payment of N16 million as ransom by his family. He was abducted in Agulu town in Anaocha Local Government Area by gunmen, who intercepted him on his way to his Nanka country home in Orumba North Local Government Area of the state. Okoli, alongside other abducted persons, was taken to and kept in a bush in Ugwuoba, which is a border town between Enugu and Anambra States. From there, the kidnappers contacted members of the victims’ families through telephone calls and demanded huge amounts of money as ransoms.
There were, until recently, countless cases of this nature, such that at a point, security agents began to fall victims themselves. One of such was a security chief, the officer in charge of SARS, Ocheobi Emmanuel, who was murdered in Onitsha in 2012.
This was such that many investors and wealthy citizens of the state jettisoned the area for fear of falling victims. While some captives were released after paying ransoms of several millions of naira, some were killed by their captors.
After coming on board, Obiano was said to have mobilised the security agencies for full scale war against criminal elements in the state. The outcome of that was a massive battle against insecurity. Now, criminals’ hideouts are demolished in line with the Anambra State law, and deadly arms and ammunition have been recovered, with over 1, 000 criminals of various ranks arrested by the police.
According to some security experts, the strategy of demolishing the criminals’ hideouts was very instrumental and effective. “This is because it not only makes them porous, it also weakens and demoralises others, who may want to venture into crimes,” a security expert told expdonaloaded blog.
The law backing the demolition of criminals’ hideouts was enacted by the Anambra State House of Assembly, led by its Speaker, Anayo Nnebe, during the last administration headed by Mr. Peter Obi. The law was targeted at stopping those who engaged in kidnapping from enjoying their loot. The law states that the state would confiscate the property of the kidnappers and demolish the houses built from the benefit. It went further to ask landlords to be vigilant, emphasising that if any kidnapper was caught in their houses, they would have themselves to blame as such buildings would be demolished. The law equally recognises capital punishment for any kidnapper caught in the act or verified and confirmed by the police.
Based on this law and such other provisions, the Obiano-led government moved to fight against all forms of crime in the state. And the move, many residents admit, has been yielding positive results.
For example, Upper Iweka, which was notorious for all form of criminal activities, has lost its former status. At the moment, over 51 houses, which served as criminals’ hideouts, have been demolished while the occupants are now occupants of a police cell.
Such achievements are not without some credits to the former governor, Mr. Peter Obi. After the signing into law of the bill, Obi announced that anybody with useful information on the whereabouts of kidnapers would get a N1million compensation. With that, there was a flurry of information on who and who was a kidnapper in every village, just as people with questionable means of livelihood were also reported. At the last count, over 350 confirmed kidnappers had been arrested, with many already dead. Many others are on the run and have fled the state.
The Obaino administration, expdonaloaded blog learnt, has demolished over 20 houses belonging to kidnappers and arrested more than 65 kidnappers since assumption of office.
While appraising the demolition exercises so far, Obiano said there was no going back on the determination of the government to rid the state of all criminal activities.
He declared that Anambra State was now safe for investors, noting that a retired commissioner of police had been engaged by the government to coordinate the activities of vigilante groups in the state which had ensured that security was in place at the grassroots.
Said he: “Anambra is very safe now, so all investors and Anambra people in the Diaspora should please come home. Night life has gradually returned, and I’m working on the street lights. Once more, we have a big and happy state and that is where we are headed. What is happening today is a continuation of the work of Operation Kpochapu because the new Commissioner of Police and the operation team were able to arrest hardened criminals and some of the arrests were made outside Anambra State.post by expdonaloaded.blogspot.com
“Even recently, we foiled a kidnap in Abia State from here. The criminals are on the run presently and they have left Anambra for good. We have destroyed their infrastructure in line with the laws of the state. Now that we have destroyed three houses in Nando, we still have another nine lined up for demolition in other parts of the state. We are making good inroad into these critical areas and what is important for the people of the state to understand is that we have won this war already.
“We have destroyed their command and control centres, their source of arms and even their organisation now is suspect because they cannot organise themselves well again because we are on their toes. I want to reassure everybody that under my watch, Anambra people can go to bed and sleep well and while doing that, I repeat that any attempt by any kidnapper, armed robber or even pick pocket will be seriously dealt with,” the governor submitted.
Meanwhile, Officer-in-Charge of the State Anti-Robbery Squad, Nwafor James Oshim, said his unit would not leave any stone unturned in the fight against crimes in the state. Nwafor, who is often lauded for his expertise in crime fighting, revealed that his men were highly motivated and were always ready to tackle the criminals head-on.