The Anambra State Government has made it clear that the ‘Operation Udo Ga Achi’ and its Agunechemba Security Outfit arm were created to secure lives and not to kill or harass law-abiding citizens.
The Special Adviser to the State Governor on Community Security, Chief Ken Emekayi, who oversees the security outfit, made this disclosure in a chat with newsmen in response to the recent public outcry by citizens over the alleged activities of some Agunechemba operatives.
These unwholesome activities, the citizens have alleged, led to civilian casualties and extortion of citizens.
Reacting to the development, Emeakayi said it is the intention of the state government to use the security outfit to ensure the safety of the lives and property of Anambra people.
He noted that the security outfit was designed in a way that each operative is properly identified to their communities before being recruited into the outfit.
Emeakayi, who noted that the state government will not shield any operative of the outfit found to be extorting citizens or to have committed any atrocious act, opined that such operative will be used to set an example to serve as deterrent to others.
The Governor’s aide appealed to the people to endeavour to always report any observed infraction by the Agunechemba operatives, to enable the government to take decisive action against them.
“The reason the governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, established Agunechemba and Operation Udo ga Achi, is to drive away criminals in the state. It is not for the operatives to start tormenting people they are expected to protect.
“See something, say something is not just about reporting criminal activities. It also includes speaking up when you see any Agunechemba operative perpetrating any untoward act, whether to you or to any other member of the public,” he said.
On the claims by some alleged vigilante operatives that they were collecting tolls at checkpoints because they have not been paid, Emeakayi explained that the operatives were not paid because they refused to present themselves for verification as required by law.
According to him, these operatives have been dodging the verification exercise since it started in January.
Emeakayi said; ”Those who want to be paid should go for profiling to enable us know if they are actually members of Agunechemba and to ensure that they do not have questionable character.
“Very soon, anybody who claims to be a security operative in any community in Anambra State without subjecting himself to the profiling process will be treated like a criminal because such a person has something to hide.
