Mick Oseji, Asaba
The Anambra State governor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, has said the majority of kidnappings and killings in Anambra and other South-East states are perpetrated by Igbos criminals and not “Fulani herdsmen as widely believed.”
Soludo stated this during an interactive town hall meeting with Anambra indigenes in the Diaspora, held at the Metro Points Hotel in New Carrollton, Maryland, United States.
The Governor who in Igbo and English language interchangeably also revealed that “99.99 per cent of kidnappers and other criminals arrested in the state since I assumed office three years ago have been Igbos.”
Soludo has been in the US engaging with Anambra indigenes since Sunday to present a detailed report of his three-year stewardship, including key milestones and challenges facing his administration.
In a video circulating in the social media, the governor was seen dispelling what he called a “dangerous and misleading narrative,” stating that “it is not Fulani herdsmen, but homegrown criminal elements terrorising the South-East.”
According to him, many of those who claim to be “liberators” hiding in the forests are, in reality, Igbo youths involved in violent and lucrative criminality for “personal enrichment.”
He said, “Let’s stop deceiving ourselves. Ask yourselves: how do these so-called liberators survive in the forests for months without local support? Who feeds them?
“In my three years and three months in office, nearly every kidnapper and armed criminal we have apprehended is Igbo. Igbos are kidnapping and killing fellow Igbos— not Fulani herdsmen. Anambra belongs to all of us. Our progress is a shared responsibility.”
He urged the indigenes in Diaspora to key into the “think home” philosophy and to invest in the homeland and contribute their skills and resources to its growth.
The governor was flanked by his Chief of Staff, Ernest Ezeajughi, where he delivered a no-holds-barred account of his administration’s achievements and challenges, hghlighting strides in infrastructure, education reforms, health care delivery, youth empowerment, and security.
Also in attendance at the occasion was Nigeria’s Charge d’Affaires in Washington, D.C., Ambassador Samson Itegboje, who emphasised the crucial role of diaspora engagement in national development.
A lively question-and-answer session followed, during which Soludo responded to questions on governance and security just as his responses drew loud applause, with many attendees praising his performance in office.
A respondent said, “He’s the most transparent and development-focused governor we’ve had. At least he’s telling the truth — even if it’s uncomfortable.”
The Daily Crucible reports that Governor Chukwuma Soludo had in January this year while launching the state security outfit – Udo Ga Chi and Agu ne che mbah, expressed grave concern that the fight against insecurity in the troubled Southeast geopolitical zone might be difficult to win any time soon with people donating food items to sustain the criminals hiding in the region’s forests.
Soludo lamented that a good number of Igbo people eulogize criminals as heroes and take the police as enemies, expressing doubt that releasing leader of the proscribed separatist group – the Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, will end the growing insecurity in Igboland.
He said criminals were exploiting the Biafran struggle to engage in “lucrative criminality” bordering on robbery, kidnapping, cultism, and idolatry.
The Governor revealed that kidnapping for ransom is the fastest growing industry in the Southeast geopolitical zone after the Yahoo Yahoo while idolatry has also become the region’s fastest growing religion.
According to him, kidnapping, Yahoo Yahoo and idolatry in the Southeast are interwoven and inseparable.
He maintained that the activities of these criminals have no bearing with any genuine liberation struggle, but sheer crimes driven by outright greed and lawlessness.
The Governor said: “The so-called agitators have transformed into organised criminal gangs. They hide in forests, kidnapping innocent citizens for ransom, and they justify their atrocities under the pretext of Biafra. Let us be clear—this has nothing to do with any liberation movement. Criminality has taken on a life of its own. These people have tasted blood, and now, money is their motivation.
“Kanu and IPOB have repeatedly dissociated themselves from these criminals,” Soludo explained. “Even if Nnamdi Kanu is released today, I’m not sure they would listen to him because what they now pursue is wealth, not liberation. They have become enemies of the people they claim to protect. Who are they fighting for when they kidnap and kill their people?
“Our people know these criminals. They are our brothers, cousins, and neighbours.
“It’s unfortunate that in some communities, people contribute food to sustain these criminals hiding in the forests. How do you fight insecurity when people see criminals as heroes and the police as enemies?
“I want to assure you that despite the lucrative criminality, and its attendant fetish practices, we pledge to fight criminality and make Anambra the safest state in the country.
“Kidnapping is not new; my father had been kidnapped as far back as 2009; GU Okeke, Pokobros, and many others have fallen victims too. Before I assumed office, about eight local government areas were being controlled by gunmen. They killed policemen and collected guns, attacked and burnt down police stations, and went into the bush to label themselves liberators.
“We came in and went to work and cleared them and we recovered the eight local government areas that were under siege. These gangs claim to be Biafra freedom fighters. IPOB has dissociated itself from it, but one Simon Ekpa has continued kidnapping for ransom.
“Kidnapping for ransom is now the most lucrative enterprise, even more lucrative than drugs and oil. For every one naira reported as payment for ransom, five to six naira was not reported. With a culture that celebrates wealth without craft, even the kidnappers amongst us are now celebrated. Idolatry, which these criminals have converted to has become the fastest-growing religion in the South-east. Nothing is sacred to them anymore.
“We are coming for them. We promise to pay whistleblowers who give information that can lead to the arrest of kidnappers in the state. We will review the extent of the usefulness of the information, and whistleblowers can get as much as a N5million,” Soludo said.
