Gov. Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra says he met almost a war situation at the inception of his administration, with eight Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state under control of suspected criminals.
Soludo made the disclosure at a news conference on Tuesday in Awka, to mark his 33rd month in office and his efforts to address insecurity in the state.
He assured residents that in spite the “unique challenges of lucrative criminalities adorned with deceptive ideology and propaganda”, his administration was determined to make Anambra the safest state in the country.
“At the inception of our administration we met almost a war situation with eight LGAs literally under total control of criminals.
“We responded massively when we came in, and among other things set up a vigilance strike force that worked with federal security agencies to root out criminals from our forest.
“Within 12 months, we were able to recover those eight LGAs under siege. However, we noted that with time, all the criminal elements have returned to some of these locations.
“And there have been troubling reports of kidnapping for ransom with instances where lives were lost,” he said.
Soludo identified kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism, drug epidemic and touting as the major security challenges ravaging in the state.
According to him, another concern is the resurgence of criminals idolatry which offered the criminals a sense of invisibility.
He said the government had started tripling its efforts and would launch a comprehensive security ecosystem tagged – ‘Operation Udo Ga Achi’, by the end of January 2025.
“We will be donating 163 vehicles to security agencies to ensure active patrol of the nooks and crannies of Anambra, and install surveillance cameras to cover all major cities and forests used by criminals.
“We will have 20 vigilante personnel and forest guards in each community and work on changing the ideology where people see security agents as the enemy and the criminals as liberators.
“Government alone cannot do it, therefore, I call on our traditional rulers, religious leaders, town union leaders and civil society organisations to join the government to fight insecurity.
“Security is our collective responsibility. If you see something, say something by reporting crimes and criminals via the 5111 toll free line.
“We are also making sure we have a secured Christmas celebration,” he said.
The governor appreciated the Federal Government and service commanders for their efforts in securing residents in the state.