From Uzoma Nzeagwu and Osiberoha Osibe (Awka)

• Group lauds Soludo’s security initiative, achievement in three years
Anambra State Police Command has said that the launching of operation Udogachi, zero kidnapping and other violent crimes will ensure the safety of life and property of citizens in the state, especially during the Easter celebration period.

Speaking at the joint flag-off of the joint security outfit at Amawbia, Anambra State, the Commissioner of Police, CP, Ikioye Orutugu, restated that effective patrol will be intensified across the state, adding that the new security outfit is jointly organised by the Anambra State Police Command, the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC), Nigerian Navy, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Anambra State Vigilance Service (AVS), and others to secure the state from criminal elements.

He said: “We have come to a position where we collectively decided to nip in the bud armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism and other violent crimes in the state… we will effectively police the state, set up stop and search/checkpoints at identified flash points.”

“We call on Anambra State residents to avail the security agencies with information that will help track and flush out criminals from their hideouts.”

MEANWHILE, the President-General of the Association of Non-Indigenes Welfare (ANISA-ANIAS) in Anambra State, Ikechukwu Ugwuoke, has lauded Governor Chukswuma Soludo’s security initiative, which, according to him, has facilitated the multi-faceted development of the state.

Ugwuoke, who made this known in an interview with newsmen yesterday, asserted that development thrives in leaps and bounds in an atmosphere where there is an enabling environment of safety, security and utility.

He observed that the establishment of the Anambra State Homeland Security Squad (Agunechemba) through Operation Udogachi has gone a long way in reducing the crime rate in the state and facilitating the enabling environment for residents to go about their normal business, career or academic activities.

He emphasised that Soludo has performed excellently in the areas of infrastructural development, health reforms, free education cum educational advancement, and increased provision of job opportunities, among others, in just three years in office, which, he said, are beneficial to both indigenes and non-indigenes in the state.