…assailants yet to be reported apprehended
Few days after the expiration of the 48-hour ultimatum issued to security operatives by the Executive Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, to unmask the killers of the Chairman of Ogbete Main Market Traders Association (OΜΜΑΤΑ), Chief Stephen Aniagu, no arrest has been reported.
The Late Aniagu, according to a statement issued on Sunday, September 15, 2024, by the spokesman of the Enugu State Police Command, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, was waylaid by gunmen on Saturday night along the Amechi Road area of the state and shot at, while the assailants made away with his (Aniagu) car.
In a statement issued same Sunday by Mbah’s media office, where the governor also commiserated with the deceased’s family and traders, the governor gave security agencies in the state 48 hours to fish out the killers of Aniagu.
“In the meantime, I have directed security agencies in the state to produce his killers within 48 hours.
“…those who committed this atrocity have bitten more than they can chew. They have murdered sleep hence neither they nor the government and security agencies will sleep until all the perpetrators are captured and justice served in accordance with the law sooner than later”, part of the governor’s statement read.
But more than 96 hours after the governor’s ultimatum, neither the Enugu state command of the Nigerian Police nor any other security agency in the state has made public any news of any arrest, implying that the perpetrators may yet not be in their custody.
It is not yet known what next steps the governor, who seems determined to rid the state of crime, will be.
A middle-class businesswoman from a neighbouring Southeast state but resident in Enugu who spoke to PACESETTER but didn’t want her name in print advised Gov. Peter Mbah to match words with action and ensure that his gains in securing the state do not go to waste.
“Compared to the last administration in Enugu State that chose to protect only herself by barricading all the entrance to the state government house, this administration has shown willingness to tackle the challenges of insecurity in the state.
“This is evident in the details that the rate of killings reported have reduced. Parts of the state have seen installation of CCTVS, although I do not know if they have started functioning. Peter Mbah must ensure that his efforts are not made mincemeat [out] of.
“On social media, there are still reports of kidnappings in the state from time to time, and we want these to be reduced to an occasional occurrence. Whatever should be done, should be done, because in the end, he takes the glory”, the private businesswoman said.