HomePoliticsPoliticsAnambra Insecurity Puts Soludo's 2nd Term Bid In Jeopardy

Anambra Insecurity Puts Soludo’s 2nd Term Bid In Jeopardy

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Diaspora representatives of the Amaokpala community in Orumba North LGA, Anambra State, convened a press briefing on Wednesday to decry the growing insecurity in the state. During the event, they disclosed the kidnapping of one of their own, Mr. Ikechukwu Okeke, a professional based in the United Kingdom, by unidentified gunmen.

The community recounted that Mr. Okeke, elder brother to Dr. Chukwudi Okeke, who chairs the Oxfordshire Cherwell District Council, flew to Nigeria on December 27, 2024, to attend his cousin’s funeral and see his ailing parents, only for an unfortunate incident to disrupt his plans.

“The tragic incident occurred on January 10, at about 7:30pm, as Mr. Okeke was returning home from the funeral of his cousin, Mrs. Obiageli Okoli. The community called on the state governor, Prof. Charles Soludo to take immediate and decisive action to address the security challenges threatening lives and property in the region.

The kidnappers released their son, Okeke, three days later, following the alleged payment of an undisclosed amount as ransom.

Mr. Okeke could consider himself fortunate to have survived his harrowing experience. Equally lucky was Rev. Fr. Nonso, a Catholic priest abducted on December 17, 2024, shortly after arriving from an overseas trip for the Christmas holidays.

Read also: Soludo Launches Anambra Security System Operation Udo Ga-Achi

He endured a week in captivity, hidden in a forest, before being rescued. His freedom was secured after Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Obimma, widely recognized as “Father Ebube Muonso,” provided a N1 million mobilization fee to the state police command.

Days after, another priest, Fr. Tobias Okonkwo, of the Catholic Diocese of Nnewi, was not so lucky. He was brutally murdered by gunmen, who abducted him in the Ihiala area of the state on December 26, 2024.

The story is similar in most parts of the state. Gunmen run rampage, abducting for ransom without let, even within Awka, the state capital, and sometimes killing victims in cold blood, while the government of Prof. Soludo appeared for the most part to be out of touch, even as his foot soldiers tended to play down the menace, spurring mass anger.

“Soludo MUST go,” said Noble Eyisi, a resident of the state, whose anger is a fair reflection of the feeling of many in the state; “… a culture of silence and palpable fear has befallen Anambra State. Insecurity, kidnappings and death, the levels of which we’ve never witnessed has become the daily lives of our people.”

The Eastern Updates 

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