When early this year some patriotic Nigerians called for, and later staged, a protest against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS, later named FSARS) arm of the Nigeria police, they meant well for the country.
The Nigerian police and its SARS had before the protest allegedly become a tool for intimidation, termination of innocent lives. Police brutality was known and felt especially in Abia and Edo state, Niger Delta areas such as Warri Abuja and other parts of Nigeria.
The protest which was hot but peaceful later turned violent as hoodlums hijacked the situation to unleash mayhem in the country.
They killed, burnt and destroyed police vehicles and facilities nationwide, especially in the South west, South –south and South east geopolitical zones of the country.
They also destroyed other paramilitary facilities like that of the Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC) Nigeria Civil Defense Corps(NCDC), the army among other facilities in the country and they carried guns and other dangerous weapons openly and looted police properties, even as some of them died trying to enter police formations to cart away properties in places like Oraifite, Anambra State.
Today, the killing of policemen and soldiers and the burning of police stations and courts have not stopped in the country as there are still reported cases of killing of policemen and burning of police stations and law courts in the country.
But none had envisaged any negative impact the protest would, in the end, have on the country until now that the miscreants have begun to display their real intention for joining the protest.
As it stands today, hoodlums, convicted criminals among others who derive pleasure on crimes have dominated the scene again and have taken to robbery, abductions even in the day time to the chagrin, of Nigerians.
In the South East, the bad guys have also hijacked the face-off between the Federal Government and the Biafra agitators to harass , intimidate, rob and kill innocent Nigerians.
In Anambra State there have been reported cases of armed robbery in different parts of the state.
On Sunday, June 13, 2021 there was abductions at Nnobi , an incident that caused confusion in the town when a some armed men double-crossed a bus conveying some people to church and abducted only the men in the bus.
Prior to that incident, there had been series of armed robbery along Ideani- Nnobi Road staged by hoodlums believed to be cultists in army uniform.
Yesterday, residents within Musa Junction Nnobi were forced to close their shops and ran way for their lives as some armed robbers who held buses conveying traders to Onitsha at the Umuagu Health Centre , Nnobi- Ideani- Mkpor Road staged a robbery scene there .
At Nnokwa, a robbery suspect was allegedly feared killed by irate victims who lynched him and burnt his body recently while another ran out of luck when he attacked a woman returning home at Nnobi with a cutlass with the evil intention to snatch the unidentified woman’s car
At Nnewi, the case is slightly different as the town had lunched its security outfit and Nzuko Ora (Nnewi town Union warned that it would not spare the life of any armed robber that stole even a pin or needle in the town.
It is ,therefore , not far from fact that the reason the hoodlums have continued to perpetrate attack on policemen, army and the courts were to gain undue freedom to rob, kill and maim their victim.
However, despite the present situation, and its apparent handicap, the Anambra State Police command had vowed that it will continue to perform its duty.
The PPRO Anambra State police command, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu had said the police in the state is on ground to deliver on its mandate.
“The attacks and threats are only meant to make us deliver on our mandate., the PPRO said.
How Anambra state citizenry have called on governor Willie Obiano and President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly use their offices to return the police to duty. They prayed Governor Obiano to revive the police stations, and equip police properly to continue to perform their duty.
