Information that the brand new safety outfit often called Agunechemba has uncovered 32 graves in a resort in insecurity-ravaged Anambra State may need raised the hope that the escalating prison actions within the area might quickly be introduced underneath management. Nonetheless, the matter has raised many questions on the propriety of its official dealing with; and the questions should be answered in a means that no Nigerian can be left in any doubt as regards the true place of issues.
In different phrases, the details and the small print must be made open for Nigerians to establish what’s being claimed to have occurred with a view to both justifying or condemning some actions which were taken thus far by the federal government.
Information broke lately that Agunechemba, a brand new safety outfit lately unveiled by Governor Charles Soludo to confront the overwhelming criminality in Anambra, uncovered 32 graves and a shrine in a well-liked resort situated within the Oba group in Idemili South Native Authorities Space. The resort which was formally registered as Udoka Golden Level Lodge and Suites is, nevertheless, popularly often called La Cruise Lodge and is situated alongside the Onitsha-Owerri Street.
Media reviews quoted the federal government as saying that the constructing which had been used underneath the guise of a resort was raided following a tip-off by a whistle-blower and due intelligence that was gathered.
Although the Particular Adviser to the Governor on Group Safety, Ken Emeakayi declined touch upon the incident, referring journalists to the Press Secretary to the governor, Christian Aburime, a press release mentioned to be shared on the Anambra State New Media X (previously Twitter) indicated that the resort had been a hub for kidnappers and different prison components.
In addition to, Aburime confirmed the clampdown and what the safety operatives discovered within the constructing. ‘Through the raid by safety operatives, graves had been discovered on the bottom flooring of the resort and a few navy camouflage and a few arm cartridges of weapons and so forth had been additionally discovered. A number of incriminating objects had been additionally discovered there. As regards if corpses had been discovered on the found graves or if any arrest was made, I can’t say for now. Investigations are nonetheless ongoing. Additional improvement shall be made often called they unfold,’’ he mentioned.
A part of the information that broke was that the resort had been demolished by safety operatives, amid a declare by police authorities within the state that they had been but to be briefed on the incident. The purpose is that by the point the resort was demolished, police authorities in Anambra weren’t knowledgeable of the discoveries within the constructing.
Among the many posers that the dealing with of the matter elicited from some quarters is why the police whose constitutional accountability is to stop and detect crime, apprehend offenders, protect regulation and order, and shield life and property weren’t carried alongside within the authorities motion. Ought to the demolition of the resort be the very first thing to occur? Had been the purported graves and shrines a part of what was demolished? If sure, is the motion not tantamount to the destruction of proof that ought to have been used to prosecute suspected perpetrators of prison actions within the constructing? What’s the function of the investigation Aburime mentioned was ongoing when what might have served as proof in opposition to suspected culprits has been destroyed?
However, Nigerians need to know if human our bodies had been discovered within the ‘graves’ or if there may be any concrete proof that our bodies had been dumped in them previously. That is essential in opposition to the backdrop of suspicion by some people who what’s claimed to be graves could possibly be water reservoirs. The general public additionally must know these behind the resort and the crimes dedicated within the constructing.
If there may be any proof that individuals had been killed within the resort, the killers should be charged with homicide as a result of the Structure says no one has the appropriate to take one other individual’s life unjustly. Prosecution of offenders must be a part of the operation of Agunechemba. Within the occasion case, it isn’t sufficient to destroy the resort. The basic human rights of some folks might have been breached. Many individuals might have suffered injustice due to the actions of those that allegedly perpetrated criminality within the constructing. They have to face the wrath of the regulation if certainly they’ve dedicated any crime. That’s how insecurity could be successfully checked in Anambra.
Pending affirmation of what transpired within the Anambra incident, the rising instances of homicide in accommodations within the nation represent a critical menace to the hospitality business, authorities income and the financial system usually. There’s a want for the stakeholders to take decisive motion in opposition to the menace.
On September 19, 1996, an 11-year-old groundnut hawker named Ikechukwu Okonkwo who was lured into Otokoto Lodge in Owerri, Imo State by one Harmless Ekeanyanwu was brutally murdered for a cash ritual. An ex-student of the Obafemi Awolowo College (OAU) Ile-Ife, Osun State, Timothy Adegoke was discovered useless within the Hilton Honour Lodge in Ile-Ife owned by Dr Rahmon Adedoyin, who, alongside two of his staff had been discovered responsible within the homicide of the deceased and sentenced to demise by a Excessive Court docket within the area.
In 2012, one Cynthia Udoka Okogosu, a Nigerian girl, was stalked on Fb, lured from her Abuja residence to a resort in Lagos underneath the pretext of partaking in enterprise transactions, however was drugged, tied up, robbed, raped, overwhelmed and strangled to demise within the resort. There was additionally the case of a younger man, Gracious David-West (40) who was sentenced to demise in Port Harcourt, Rivers State for killing 9 ladies who he strangled to demise in resort rooms throughout the nation between July and September 2019. If accommodations are not seen as protected locations to lodge, patronage might undergo, leading to low funding within the business and low income for the federal government that collects the tax.
As safety operatives launch courageous strikes in opposition to criminals, they need to additionally make sure that harmless residents don’t undergo unjustly in the midst of finishing up such operations. The campaign in Anambra State ought to intention to dislodge criminals and must be devoid of any political undertone.
