The intense crackdown of criminals in Anambra State entered a new phase at the weekend when the Executive Governor,

The intense crackdown of
criminals in Anambra State
entered a new phase at the
weekend when the Executive
Governor, Chief Willie Obiano
announced his readiness to
deploy drones and a handful of
other hi-tech surveillance
equipment to smoke out
criminals in the state from their
hiding places for immediate
arrest and prosecution.
The governor who spoke at the
final test-running of the drones
at the Governor’s Lodge,
Amawbia before their
deployment to trouble-spots
across the state also declared
the resolve of his administration
to sustain the campaign against
kidnappers, armed robbers and
other types of organized crime
in the state until they were
either driven out or clamped in
jail after prosecution.
According to him, his decision to
use hi-tech devices to track
down criminals in the state
marked the commencement of
the second phase of the ongoing
campaign which relies heavily
on sophisticated intelligence
gathering and clinical insolation
of the flash points of crime to
ensure a comprehensive
cleansing of the state of all
criminals.
The governor who felt greatly
buoyed by the overwhelming
support he received from the
indigenes of the state, resident
in Abuja and the surrounding
areas who collectively pooled
almost N100m to support his
crime-bursting campaign, vowed
to sustain the pressure on
criminal elements in the state
until they had been reduced to a
police-able proportion.
He maintained that with the
financial donations and goodwill
he had received from Ndi
Anambra, he would re-
invigorate Operation Kpochapu
with a new technological edge
that would boost its capacity to
detect and prevent crime in the
state.
“We are moving into the next
phase of our campaign against
criminals in Anambra State. Our
efforts shall be more intensely
focused on crime detection and
prevention going forward. That
is the reason why we are
deploying hi-tech surveillance
equipment to spy on the
activities of crime suspects and
forestall possibilities of violent
crime,” Governor Obiano
explained, pointing out that the
new phase requires a lot of
creativity.
“Modern crime-fighting requires
a lot of creativity. Criminals are
extremely inventive and we
have to be a step ahead of them
to outsmart them. We are
relying heavily on technology to
give us their coordinates and the
general direction of their plans,”
he further explained, recalling
that the recent rescue of a
kidnap victim who was tracked
all the way to Orlu in Imo State
was a clear demonstration of
the efficacy of technology in
crime fighting.
Said he; “As soon as we got wind
of the kidnap we moved in and
activated the devices. We
monitored their movement to
their hideout in Orlu, Imo State
and waited until all the suspects
were fully in before we picked
them up.”
Since he came into office in
March this year, Governor
Obiano has singled out the
challenge of insecurity as a
major focus of his
administration and evolved a
number of highly effective
strategies that have put
criminals on the run in
Anambra State.
One of the most visible aspects
of his strategy is the erection of
security tents that are fully
stuffed with sandbags in all
existing and potential dark spots
in the state, manned by combat-
ready security operatives that
are fully armed to the teeth.
In addition to serving as a
deterrent, the presence of these
highly trained and pointedly
unobtrusive security personnel
in strategic areas makes it easy
for a swift co-ordination of
counter-strikes that takes
brigands unawares.
The swift and coordinated
reaction that led to the arrest of
Okechukwu Nnaegbo, a kidnap
kingpin, at the Murtala
Mohammed International
Airport in a South African
bound aircraft remains one of
the highpoints of Obiano’s
campaign to cleanse the state of
criminal elements and restore
confidence in the people.