|
Listen to article
|
CP Aderemi Adeoye, the serving Commissioner of Police overseeing Anambra State, underscored the uphill battle faced by law enforcement in their pursuit of normalcy, citing the obstructive tactics employed by certain well-connected individuals.
Such deliberate sabotage, as indicated by the Commissioner, has led to the emergence of security breaches in the state, including the attacks on police stations and the escalation of cult-related violence in Awka.
Adeoye made these remarks while addressing members of the press at the Anambra NUJ Press Centre in Awka during the April Congress of the union.
The commissioner, who was represented by the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department, DCP Akin Fakorede, said: “When those things that have happened over a period of time begin to happen again, the question people should ask is why?
“Could you imagine that the cultists we arrested, charged to court, and got remanded in prison custody that some powerful locals are going to the judiciary to lobby to get them released? And some have been released. And they are the ones unleashing this mayhem again! That is number one.
Read also: Soludo Moves To Crash Cost Of Internet In Anambra State
“Two, you must have heard of the AK-47 we recently recovered from a suspect in Awada. What the suspect told us was that they procured it for him to engage in a showdown with a rival cult group. Now, if that AK-47 was not recovered or had joined the recent cult-related clash, could you imagine what the casualty level would have been?” he said.
In addition, the Police Commissioner revealed that within a matter of hours, law enforcement seized three Beretta pistols from cultists in Ogidi and Ekwulobia, a scenario he highlighted could have exacerbated the cult-related confrontations if the police hadn’t acted promptly to recover them.
He also pondered the intentions behind sabotaging security initiatives and funding criminal endeavors within the community, questioning the end goals individuals hope to achieve through such behavior. Nonetheless, he reiterated the police force’s steadfast determination to combat criminal elements in the state, promising to continue actively engaging and confronting them.
“We are already going after the cultists; and if we find that anybody is subverting justice, or is subverting due process, to get the cultists off the hook, they will face the music, notwithstanding whether the person is in the judiciary or civil populace,” he said.
