Cajetan Mmuta
There were indications yesterday night that the Anambra State Governor, Prof Charles Soludo, may have withdrawn the olive branch of amnesty he earlier extended to all agitators and gunmen unleashing terror across the length and breadth of the state.
He has, therefore, declared total war against gunmen threatening lives and property in the state.
Soludo indicated this on his verified Facebook page following the killing of a lawmaker representing Aguata constituency 2 in the state House of Assembly, Okechukwu Okoye.
The governor said the gruesome murder of the lawmaker had shown that the criminals did not value human life anymore.
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Recall that Soludo had upon assumption of office offered amnesty to hoodlums in the state and appealed to them to sheathe their swords and embrace peace, stating that his administration would set up a truth, peace, and justice commission to reconcile all Aggrieved persons and groups.
According to him, “We have also offered them some kind of amnesty. Come out, give us your guns, we are prepared to give you training in whatever skills, even if we have to raise resources to empower you to become useful partners in the development of society.
“A lot of them (gunmen) in the bush out there are having camps here and there. They come out to kidnap and kill. Once we isolate all the groups that are not involved in this, then we can focus on the criminals.”
Soludo had last week visited the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, in the facility of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Abuja as part of his peace initiatives in the state and in across the South-East geo-political zone.
But in his recent posting on his Facebook page, Soludo said the criminals had elected to desecrate Igbo land with the blood of the innocent, adding that the lawmaker and his aide, Cyril Chiegboka, were murdered in the most gruesome manner.
” Cyril Chiegboka and ‘Okey di okay’ were murdered in the most gruesome manner. No human being should ever have to experience death in that way. For no just reason, rampaging criminals have elected to desecrate our land with the blood of the innocent.
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“This is a test of our resolve, and we are more emboldened than cowed that this criminality must be stamped out of our land.”
“Ndi Anambra, this is not who we are. The party is over, and every community must brace up to join forces with the government in this war to reclaim our homeland.”
“Okey and Cyril will never die in vain. May God console their young families, the people of Isuofia, and Ndi Anambra. May their souls and all others who have lost their lives in the hands of these criminals continue to rest in peace.
“We have placed N10m bounty for anyone with useful information. This war is one that Anambra must-win,” he added.
