AWKA — Professor Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra State has ordered all landlords in the state to proceed on what he called “Operation Know Your Tenant”.
Soludo, who spoke through his Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Aburime, said this was a “sincere measure” to fight insecurity and all forms of criminal activities in the state.
He specifically directed the landlords to henceforth keep appropriate records of their tenants, charging them to report anyone suspected of being involved in criminal activities to security operatives.
He insisted that no part of Anambra State, whether a house, bush, or forest, should be used as a camp for criminals, adding that anyone with a gun in a camp should be considered a criminal and vowed that government and the people would work with security agencies to flush them out.
The governor said, “The state government shall, pursuant to its powers under the Land Use Act, revoke and acquire any land found to be harboring these criminals, for public purpose.
“Henceforth, every community is required to provide information on any part of their land occupied by these criminals as camps. If the community fails to do so, the government will take over such land.
“Similarly, any buildings found to be harboring kidnappers and murderers in the state will, as provided by Criminal Code (Amendment No.3) Law 2013, be forfeited to the government.
“All hotels have been directed to obtain the means of identification of their guests, keep an inventory of all guests and immediately report any suspicious persons or group of persons checking into or converging in their facilities.
‘Various ranges of bounties have been placed on criminals in the state. These are some of the sincere measures to ensure that peace returns in the state.”
Soludo expressed delight that the steps being taken by his administration were already yielding satisfactory results with more successes anticipated.
Assuring the readiness of the government to uproot any form of criminality in the state, he encouraged the people of Anambra to go about their lawful duties as their security is the number one priority of the government.
“The government of Anambra State cannot shirk or relent on its constitutional responsibility of securing life and property of the citizens and residents. Some proactive actions are already being taken to allay the fears of the residents,” he added.
He also decried the May 20 killing of Mrs. Harira Jibril and her four children by unknown gunmen, describing the murder as “barbaric and unacceptable”, and vowed to fish out the perpetrators and ensure they were brought to book.
