There are no ‘Unknown Gunmen’ here, people know killers, Anambra CP says, warns communities to stop shielding them

*Says attributing killings to Fulani must stop as claim untrue

It is not true that Fulani are the people attacking and killing people  in the state he said, unless one wants to believe that which is not true.“We have arrested some and we have also taken away some during gun duel” he said.

The Anambra Police Command, in a recent press briefing, said that the South East communities shielding criminal elements attacking, killing and maiming innocent people in the state contribute to the escalation of recent insurgency in that part of the country.

During the briefing, the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, CP Echeng E. Echeng, levied the allegation in Awka on the gruesome murder of Anambra state lawmaker  Hon. Okechukwu Okoye and his aide, Cyril Chiegboka at the police headquarters, Awka on Monday.

Echeng said that the problem in the state is the conspiracy among the communities, where nobody wants to say anything.

According to him, “people know those killing and kidnapping people in the communities but are not ready to talk.

“Instead they mystify them with tag of unknown gunmen, when they are known by the various communities.

“Some of us have come out   to tag these people unknown gunmen. We are trying to mystify something that is not just there .It is time we go into demystifying the tag of unknown gunmen.

“They are not spirits, they are our brothers, they live with us in our communities. That is the obvious truth. We know who are these people.

“The problem the state security have is total conspiracy of silence, when nobody sees something, nobody says something and nobody hears something. Security is collective, everybody has a battle”.

Echeng said that crimes are localised, crimes are committed in our communities and we should be able to say what is happening in our communities.

He added: “We are glorifying people that we know and tag as unknown gunmen. We know them and we have actually arrested some of them and they are human beings” he said.

He said that the narrative that when something happened, people attribute it to the Fulani should be stopped.

It is not true that Fulani are the people attacking and killing people  in the state he said, unless one wants to believe that which is not true.

“We have arrested some and we have also taken away some during gun duel” he said.

Echeng also said that part of  the security problem in the state is that the state  is bothered  by neighbouring states  and it is easy to move in and out.

According to him the police and other security agencies in the state are trying to checkmate the cross boarder crimes.

“From this night, you are going to hear something because we cannot continue with this.

“We are taking the fight to them and we believe we will win the battle”, he said.

He commiserated with the family of the late Hon. Okoye, the House of Assembly and Governor Chukwuma Soludo while appreciating the efforts of the government to improve the security and enhance the safety of the general populace.