The Anambra State Police Command has arrested 200 suspected offenders and recovered some property in the previous two months, according to Commissioner Nnaghe Itam.
He also added that at that time, the command’s personnel retrieved around 1,644 rounds of ammunition.
Those detained were alleged kidnappers, cultists, car snatchers, and minor criminals.
“I am putting in place operational strategies to ensure that within 10 minutes after a crime is reported, a response team will storm the scene.
“Gov Chukwuma Soludo has been supportive; sister security agencies, including the state security services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), have also supported us.
“The local vigilante groups have also been supportive. We are all working together,” he said.
He asked Anambra citizens to provide information that would assist in the battle against crime, adding that he had been interacting with key stakeholders, including traditional rulers, religious groups, and community leaders.
“I have also asked traditional rulers to redefine any of their cultural practices that encroach on fundamental human rights to avoid social clashes,” he said.
He went ahead to warn that land grabbing, voodoo practices, cultism, violence, and abuse of human rights would not be tolerated in the state.
He encouraged anyone attempting to undermine the state’s peace to reconsider their intentions, as the police leadership would oppose them.
Meanwhile, a former employee of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, or EEDC, was arrested last week in Anambra State for bypassing and tampering with prepaid meters for clients.
According to the Daily Post, Emeka Ezeh, Head of Corporate Communications at EEDC, made the announcement on Thursday in Enugu.
Lawrence Okeke, the suspect, specializes in replacing original meter sensors with phoney ones, circumventing the meters and preventing them from recording actual customer use. This development has had a detrimental influence on the distribution company’s revenues.
Ezeh stated that in response to a whistleblower’s tip, the company’s Meter Monitoring Team was dispatched to select sites for normal meter monitoring inspections.
They noticed that the meter was bypassed at one of the properties inspected on Bida Road in Onitsha, and the original meter sensor had been removed and replaced with a fake one.
While the team probed the customer, who had previously accepted their findings, the customer revealed the identity and contact information of the guy who did the bypass: Lawrence Okeke, an ex-EEDC employee.
Lawrence was immediately tracked down and detained before being turned over to the Central Police Station in Onitsha, where he is presently aiding the police with their investigation.
According to Ezeh, Lawrence Okeke, who is from Adogba Village in Awgu Local Government Area, Enugu State, was fired from EEDC in December 2020 for serious misbehaviour.
“The apprehension of the suspect by the team is a great breakthrough in the organization’s fight against meter bypass and energy theft”, Ezeh said.
“It is believed that by the time the investigation is concluded, a lot of atrocities already perpetrated by the likes of Lawrence in our network, will be unravelled.”