From David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
A call has gone to the Governor of Anambra State, Prof Charles Soludo to beam his searchlight on the activities of big men behind the spate of kidnapping and ransom-taking in the state.
The call was made by a renowned businessman, Chief Chief Eugene NwizugbeNwizugbe, who insisted that kidnapping in Anambra had the strong support of “big men” acting behind the scenes and enjoying the bulk of the ransom.
He said his observation was evident in the confessions of many arrested kidnappers who mostly put their share of ransom between N100,000 or N150,000 out of millions of naira paid by relations of the victims.
His words: “Those kidnappers have “Ogas” they work for, and government needs to deal with them without minding how influential they might be.
“There are major and minor kidnappers. Yahoo boys are minor kidnappers. Native doctors are the backbone of those Yahoo boys and ritualists. So, the homeland law now is a welcome development.
“When kidnappers are caught and you ask them what they received from the ransom paid, they will say N100,000 or a little above that. Then the question is who keeps the millions received as ransom?
He, however, commended Governor Soludo for the security measures he put in place, adding that the launch of the new security initiative code-named “Agunechemba” is a right step in the right direction.”
“With this initiative, he has no challenge for a second tenure because he has taken adequate measures to save lives and property in the State. So, he should continue for the second term. Any other contestant is wasting his time and money. They should wait till after the next tenure. The Governor deserves it.
“Anybody who doesn’t support the Governor’s security efforts must be a criminal.
“Only the announcement of the Homeland Law now in place in the State sent the kidnappers packing and they are all bound to leave the State for good. Indeed, Soludo has no rival,” he added.