Punch Again: Thugs invade Onitsha Punch office, cart away items

Some suspected thugs said to be working for the ‘OCHA Brigade’ also known as ‘Operation Clean and
Healthy Anambra,’ on Wednesday invaded the Onitsha office of The PUNCH, carting away a generator and a plasma television set.
The thugs claimed that they were at the office to enforce the payment of “business premises fees.”
They said they were working for the Anambra State Government. 
The Sales and Marketing Representative of The PUNCH in Onitsha, Mr. Linus Ogbo, who was present during the incident, said the thugs, numbering about seven, stormed the office in a Toyota Hiace bus. 
Ogbo said he was pushed aside by the thugs when he tried to stop them from making away with the items. 
He listed the looted items as one Honda EB 3000S generator and one LG LCD 32 inch television. 
When contacted by our correspondent, a member of the brigade, Udekwe Ugochukwu, claimed they were not thugs but “civil servants.”
According to him, the state government mandated them to assist the ministry of industry and investment to recover outstanding debts owed to the state. 
Ugochukwu explained that the items would be returned upon payment of the said business premises fees, which, he said, was N45,000. 
Asked whether the ‘brigade’ has the powers to loot office items in the course of the said assignment, Ugochukwu told our correspondent that they have been taking similar actions in other offices.