Taiwo Jimoh and Eruchalu Ebube
IGP, Baba
Anambra State in the past weeks has continued to be
in the news for all the wrong reasons. In less than three weeks, notable and
influential Nigerians have been killed and offices of security agencies
torched.
On September 28, Nigerians were shocked to their
bone marrows to hear about the shooting and subsequent death of Dr. Chike
Akunyili, the widower of late Prof. Dora Akunyili. Dora was the former minister
of Information and director general of the National Agency for Food and Drug
Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Eyewitnesses said that Dr. Akunyili was
shot at Nkpor in the Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
One of the eyewitnesses said: “They killed him, the
orderly and his driver. They took him to be a politician. As they were shooting
him, they were chanting, ‘No election’ in Anambra in November.”
On October 3, the Special Adviser, drainage and
Water Resource, Joe Igbokwe, took to his Facebook handle, to
share Closed-circuit television (CCTV) capture of suspected members of the
Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), setting his country home in Nnewi, Anambra
State, on fire. Igbokwe is also a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress
(APC).
Other attacks were on offices of the Directorate of
State Services (DSS), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and attacks on Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices.
For weeks now, IPOB has declared that every Monday,
there will be a sit-at-home in all eastern states. People who flouted the order
had been shot at and others killed. As the November 6, 2021, Anambra State
governorship election draws nearer, tension has mounted as IPOB, now dreaded in
eastern parts, declared that there wouldn’t be election.
Citizens in the state have been gripped with fear,
with many Nigerians advocating for the postponement of the election. The Minister
of Justice and Attorney General, Abubakar Malami calls for a State of Emergency.
A retired Assistant-Inspector General of Police
(AIG), Mr. Donald Iroham, said: “We need to be factual and know how the wind is
blowing. We have been having the issue of Boko Haram in the North East and there
had not been a State of Emergency, so why should Anambra State be different?
There’s also need to carry out proper investigation in Anambra, in order to
find out the main source of the problem. A lot of people have been killed
before. We have a government, whose principal aim is to provide security.
Government should investigate the issues properly; it’s not right that
immediately something happens, it will be assumed to be the handiwork of IPOB.”
He also said that the government should ensure that
hoodlums behind the breakdown of laws and are arrested and put behind bars.
He added: “Government should also use its
intelligence machineries to investigate the issues, that’s what they are being
paid salaries. These agencies and their agents should roll up their sleeves and
get to work, because that is only what can stop all these senseless killings.
Also, partnership with the local people is very important in order to get to
the root of all these killings. In England, things like that cannot happen. If
you do it once or twice, CCTV will capture you.”
A retired Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr. Frank
Odita, said: “I do not think you'll just wake up in the morning and declare a State
of Emergency without proper security assessment. We have to know the causes. It’s
time for the DSS to carry out proper investigation and intelligence gathering
in Anambra. The truth is that, in order to cure an illness, you’ll have to
diagnose it. After diagnosing the illness, you'll then be able to know the
medication to apply. In the case of Anambra State, we see people there obeying
the sit-at-home on every Monday and those that disobeyed face the consequences.
Now, we have to find out what are their targets or aims. They torched FRSC and
DSS offices, which was a provocation and a call to action for DSS. Operatives
of DSS should determine to find out why such atrocities are happening under
their watch in Anambra State. Before a State of Emergency can be declared, it’s
important for the police, the DSS and other security agencies to find out what
the problem is. Is manpower inadequate? Is the problem funding or lack of
equipment? I felt people should know that when elections are coming up in any
state, it’s most likely elements of trouble makers will come up. Actions should
be taken, but unfortunately, this was not done. Well, let’s see what happens in
the next few days, and what actions will be put in place.”
Odita stated that a State of Emergency meant a total
takeover of the state by the soldiers. He argued that if soldiers were drafted
into a state, pulling them out was usually pretty difficult.
He said: “I don't know whether the state will ever be
better or worse than they met it. Before
FG declares a State of Emergency, there are certain issues which it should look
into. Have the state government failed in its responsibility to protect the
state? If the answer is no, then the FG should find out from the state
government what the problems are, and why they can't cope with the situation.
FG should also find out if the state needs help, so that they can give it, and
peace restore. Bringing in the army should be the last resort and it’s too
early to do that. Is the crisis political? Is it outright crime or banditry?
Then you'll be able to know what you're facing and provide solutions. The
security agencies should hold a security meeting with the governor and look
into these issues. When you know what you're dealing with, then you'll be able
to assign restorations and deal with it, so as to bring peace. We don't know
why they are killing; only the person killing knows. And only after we find out
should we act. There’s need to carry out a security threat analysis. By the
time they analyze it, they will get the answers to the questions. They can’t
get these answers by looking, but by tactically carrying out investigation.”
Mr. Frank Oshanugor, another security expert, said a
call for a State of Emergency was not the solution to the crisis rocking southeast
states.
He said: “Malami was wrong for even thinking about
calling for a State of Emergency in Anambra State. It was not the right time,
and if not that he’s a hypocrite, why had the FG never contemplated calling for
a State of Emergency in Kaduna, Borno and Zamfara states, where killings by
bandits and other crimes are taking place on daily basis? Compared to the
aforementioned states, what is happening in Anambra State is mere skirmish. I
don't know the kind of hatred the Nigerian government is practising. It shows
the minister has biased mind against a section of the country. The youths that
are called unknown gunmen in southeast are jobless. If they have jobs, they
wouldn’t allow themselves to be dragged into the killing squad. They are also
angry over the situation in the country, where the political class is living in
affluence. The government needs to investigate the root cause of this crisis in
southeast and nip it. Instead, they are using force. In Physics, when two
forces meet, it escalates to what we are witnessing in Anambra State today, and
other parts of the country.”
A security analyst, Mr. Folorunsho Attah, said Malami
calling for a State of Emergency in Anambra State shows that the country has
two laws; one for the North and another for the South East.
Attah said: “If Malami was advised to call for a
State of Emergency, then he was ill advised. What will he then say about the
Kaduna-Abuja highway where 34 people were kidnapped last week and several
people killed by bandits and kidnappers? What will he also say about Maiduguri
killings, which had been going on for years? I foresee a bloody situation
during the election if the security agents didn't up their games.”
The Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative
Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said: “Before
FG takes that such a position, it must have exhausted all necessary avenues in
order to restore sanity and check the violence going on in Anambra State.
If
there is cooperation among local, state and FG officials, I don't see why groups
that are bent on disturbing Anambra State cannot be controlled. It’s all about synergising
and getting everyone involved to ensure peaceful resolution or at least safety
of the people in Anambra. Right now, students cannot even go to school, people
cannot go to market or work places. We
should not allow terror groups to cause chaos in Nigeria.”
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