Insecurity: Obiano To Buy Gun Boat For The Navy, Repair Grounded Vessels

                        

Governor Willie Obiano, of Anambra state yesterday went a step higher in his efforts to sanitize the state security wise by promising that his government will buy a new gun-boat to support the Nigerian Navy in fighting crime in the water ways in the ongoing operations to rid the state of criminals. 

Governor Obiano made the promise while reacting to the arrest of an arms dealer and four armed robbery suspects by the state Police command. He commended the men of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) led by James Nwafor for routing the gun dealer and capturing kidnapers and criminals hitherto troubling the state.

He said that a structure was being worked out with the state Chief Judge to accelerate the dispensation of justice while a special court might be set up to compliment the conventional courts to ensure no criminal evades the law.

According to Governor Obiano: “we can’t afford any delay in the delivery of justice in line with the resolve of this administration to sustain comprehensive fight against the criminals’’.  

He said the state government would also repair all grounded naval vessels to put them back into operation to enable the Navy secure the state water-ways effectively, stressing that some of the arms were smuggled into the state through the River Niger.

Obiano further said: “Ndi Anambra should go home and sleep. This war against criminals will be on through the life of my administration. More criminals, drug barons and arms dealers will be arrested and their routes blocked. All criminals must be prosecuted and if convicted, face the full penalty for their offence. You know kidnapping attracts death penalty. We are going to ensure speedy trial of all those arrested.”

Obiano further explained that the war against criminals had entered the second phase which would include going after the criminals command and control activities, targeting those who supply them arms and ammunition as well as blocking the routes through which they smuggle arms into the state. 

Commissioner of Police Anambra state, Gwary Usman represented by the state command PPRO, DSP Emeka Chukwuemeka assured the Governor that the Anambra state Police command had recorded another breakthrough in the onslaught against criminals with the arrest of an arms dealer and four (4) armed robbery suspects. Chukwuemeka restated the determination of the command to rid the state of all criminal elements in line with the resolve of the Governor to achieve zero tolerance of crime adding that the arms dealer, Mr. Alphonsus Ngwu from Ugwuoba in Enugu state arrested at his shop at the main market Onitsha is assisting the police with information.

The PPRO disclosed that members of the armed robbery gang who specialized in snatching of vehicles were arrested in Ajalli area, Orumba North with two (2) locally made pistols, twelve (12) cartridges and charms while some stolen vehicles have been recovered from them.

The arms dealer admitted that he had been in the business for over fifteen years through smuggling and later selling of the arms. Also speaking, one of the armed robbery suspect Mr. Uchechukwu Orizu said he was arrested with his girlfriend and another member of the gang at Isuofia while trying to rob a woman.

The arms recovered from Mr. Ngwu included  six (6) pump actions guns, one (1) revolver pistol, six thousand, three hundred and ninety (6,390) live  cartridges, sixty- two (62) rounds of five-point-six-five mm (5.65mm) live ammunition, seventy-four (74) rounds of nine mm  (9mm) live ammunition, twelve (12) magazines for AK forty-seven (AK 47) rifle, two (2) magazines for K-two rifle (K-2), some dismantled parts of AK forty-seven (AK 47), one (1) general purpose machine gun ammunition and one (1) smoke cartridge.