The Anambra State House of Assembly resumed plenary on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, while maintaining its silence over worsening insecurity in the state. This is not only the first plenary in the New Year, but also the first sitting since the disappearance of Hon. Justice Azuka, the House of Assembly member representing Onitsha North I constituency.
After hours of executive session held behind closed doors by the House members, the plenary commenced with the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Chukwuma Okoye presiding. However, the sitting was then adjourned almost immediately with no deliberation or discussion of any kind.
In a few days, it will be exactly one month since Hon. Justice Azuka was kidnapped in Onitsha on his way to his home on Christmas Eve. Since then, nothing has been heard of his whereabouts till date. Meanwhile, the position or efforts by both the Government of Anambra State and the House of Assembly, to ensure his safe return is unclear, and at best unknown. It is conceivable that the House of Assembly is trapped in some kind of contradiction where making a strong statement or standing with their kidnapped colleague would mean opposing or criticizing Governor Soludo. Perhaps, their silence is guided by security advisory. Either way, what is obvious is that the House has not taken any position on the level of insecurity destroying Anambra State under the present administration.
Coincidentally, on the same Tuesday that the House resumed, the lifeless body of Ifeoma Onyekwelu, a senior banker with a new generation bank in Anambra was dumped around Ideani in Idemili South local government area of Anambra State. Ifeoma was kidnapped on December 13 and ransom was paid to her abductors twice, but her lifeless body was discarded at a refuse dump, with her eyes still covered. Only about a month ago, the victim left her house in the morning hale and hearty. This is not an isolated case, as insecurity has attained normalcy in Anambra State. Since two months ago, Ben Ezemma, also known as Big Ben, has been missing with no traces. Ben came in from Abuja where he lives with his family and was kidnapped in Anambra State. He was seen last on November 12, 2024, and since then he has not been seen to date. Only most recently, the retired Archbishop of Nnewi Anglican Diocese was released after spending over one month in the kidnappers’ den and making a payment of a very stupendous amount in ransom for his release.
Kidnapping in Anambra State has become so common, and extremely commercialized with criminals setting up camps across every part of the state to kidnap people and collect ransom among other criminal ventures in the value chain inclusive of human and organ trafficking, as revealed in a viral audio message by a kidnap victim, who was later released alongside a Reverend Father.
Popular Anambra priest, Rev. Father Emmanuel Obimma, known as Ebube Muonso, has come very hard on Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo for failing to secure the state. He took it a bit higher when he challenged the governor on other aspects of governance, affirming that the governor has nothing to show in nearly three years. This was after the Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, criticized the priest his speaking out against insecurity in Anambra State. Many Stakeholders and concerned citizens have spoken up against the level of insecurity that has become characteristic of Anambra State. Sir Paul Chukwuma, the leading aspirant for Anambra State Governorship on the platform of the APC, has called on Governor Soludo to provide security or resign. Surprisingly, the governor himself has also made at least two commitments assuring that insecurity would soon be a thing of the past. But, not only that he was unable to keep his promise, the situation has rather continued to escalate, pointing to the fact that the governor might have been overwhelmed or has no solution to the prevailing security challenge in Anambra State.
As the House of Assembly grapples with saving its image by standing with its kidnapped colleague and constituents who are victims of this state of nature of sorts in Anambra State or, on the other hand, maintaining censorship about any debate on security at plenary, time is ticking. In any event, where an important institution like the state legislature stands in such a troubling time counts both now and in the future.
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