Lawmaker commends Ugwuanyi’s meetings with Miyetti Allah, others over Enugu killings

A Lawmaker representing Nkanu East/West Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Nnolim Nnaji has commended the Enugu State Governor, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in his efforts at curtailing the rate of banditry and kidnapping in the various parts of the state.

Speaking on behalf of the Enugu state governor to Journalists in Abuja, Nnaji stated that, in his will to stop the killings, especially on the case of the murdered of Rev. Fr. Paul Offu, the Governor has in the last two weeks held strategic meetings with various interest groups and stakeholders.

According to the honorable, Ugwuanyi first had a meeting with all the leaderships of the security agencies in the state immediately after the brutal murder of Reverend Father Paul Offu, the Parish Priest of St James the Greater Parish, Ugbawka, Nkanu West Local Government Area.

In his words, Nnaji stated that “our peace loving Governor equally held other series of meetings with community leaders and those of the Hausa community in Enugu State, during which he sought their cooperation with the security agencies in their quest to arrest the increasing rate of insecurity in Enugu.”

He added that “it is also informative to add that Governor Ugwuanyi has ordered the immediate recruitment of 20 able bodied youths per ward to serve as vigilantes with handsome fees.”

 He further said that, the vigilantes and forest guards who were earlier recruited, will complement the efforts of the security agencies, with check points in all exit and entry points in all the local governments and communities of the state.

“Special Police Squad, (SPS) has also been engaged to patrol the hideouts within the state while Military Check Points, (MCP) have been increased to further make it impossible for criminality to thrive in Enugu henceforth”, Nnaji noted.

The lawmaker further commended the leadership of the Miyetti Alla Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, (MACBAN) Enugu State chapter for coming out to create awarness among its members on the exposure of any criminal elements that might occur within their territory.

He also stated that, several communities across Enugu State, have hosted Fulani herders, who have lived peacefully with them over the years without hostility, adding that there was need for collaborative efforts to fish out infiltrators, who were giving the Fulanis bad image in the recent times.

The house of representative member, however urged the national leadership of Miyetti Alla to borrow from the example of the Enugu State chapter to assist the security agencies in tracking the killer herders across the country so that the bandits who were disguising as herders to unleash terror on innocent Nigerians can be tamed.

He further appealed to the people of Enugu State to give the Governor full cooperation to ensure that the current efforts to achieve a crime free Enugu is fully realized.

Nnaji also supported the Federal Government’s plans to establish community police, stressing that it would help in confidence building between the police and the locals.

He noted that it would equally improve intelligence,gathering by the police with the assistance of the natives who have better understanding of their environment.

“In most advanced countries, community policing has yielded more result than the type of Federal structure we operate. I am sure the law we will come up with will appropriately define the limits of the functions of the local police authority and the roles of the federal police so there will be no ambiguity”, he stated.