Kidnappings: Anambra council chairmen to collaborate to end menace

Worried by the increasing spate of kidnappings especially with the alleged kidnap of three people in Oko, Ndikelionwu and Ufuma, all in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra state, the Chairman of Orumba North, Hon. Sir Ogo Ekwueme and his Orumba South counterpart, Hon. Prince Neville Uchendu met to fashion out ways to tackle the menace.

Also at the meeting on Thursday were the Divisional Police Officer, Oko Division in Orumba Council, CSP Oluwadare Ayeni, the Head of Vigilante Service in Orumba South and Asatu Chairman of Orumba South among others.

CSP Ayeni and the Head of Vigilante groups in Orumba South briefed the two Chairmen on the new operational modalities they were deploying in order to stem the tide of kidnappings in the two council areas.

They noted that the security operatives had identified some hideouts being used by the criminals to perpetrate their heinous crimes within the two local governments, and assured the two Mayors of their readiness to curtail the developments.

The DPO, who regretted that the kidnapping allegedly carried out in Oko was not reported to the police, however, urged residents of the two local governments to always volunteer information to the police as well as take some security measures to adequately protect themselves against kidnappers.

He appealed for more support from the government to support their security efforts.

Responding, the two council chairmen assured them of their continuous support within the available resources.

They promised that they would do all they could to continue to render assistance with the available meagre resources pending the release of funds from the state government.

They appealed to the police and other security agencies to intensify efforts to arrest the insecurity in the area especially kidnapping which they acknowledged had gained momentum in the recent time.

They also urged the police to increase their presence on the road to instil fear in the criminals to deter them from carrying out their enterprise.

The two chairmen who pledged to pull resources together to assist the security outfits advised the security operatives not to discriminate between the two councils in providing security but see the entire Orumba as one to enable them to deal with a crime without considering jurisdiction as a barrier.