Should the NLC embark on another strike to protest the fuel price hike?
Anambra: 7 Feared Killed, Gov's Office Razed
� � Obasanjo convenes security council meeting From Josephine Lohor in Abuja, Joseph Ushigiale and Charles Onyekamuo in Awka, 11.11.2004
The state of anarchy which was re-enacted in Anam-bra State on Wednesday continued yesterday as about seven persons were feared killed and strategic government buildings including the Governor's Office, State House of Assembly and state broadcasting houses in both Awka and Onitsha were burnt. In an apparent reaction to the resumed violence in the state, President Olusegun Obasanjo will today meet with the nation's security chiefs in Abuja to deliberate on the issue. Like Wednesday's attack during which hoodlums torched two radio stations, burnt the gate of the Government House and the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) building, vandalised several vehicles, the hoodlums yesterday targeted strategic buildings belonging to all the three arms of government in the state. The group of invaders were said to have entered Awka yesterday morning from Onitsha where they had burnt down the Anambra television station. Mr. Martins Uzeh who identified himself as an ex-officio member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Onitsha South said yesterday that he and some members were holding a meeting at the council secretariat when the hoodlums stormed the area and shot seven people. He said the incident had been reported to the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Felix Ogbaudu. He said the corpses had been deposited in an undisclosed hospital morgue. Though there was no official police confirmation, a senior police officer at the state command who craved anonymity said the police received the report of the deaths in Onitsha but that investigation showed that only one person died while some other people were wounded. Uzeh said the daring youths regrouped and headed for Awka, the state capital after leaving Onitsha. At Awka, the party consisting of youths between the ages of 18 and 25 numbering over 300 went straight to the Governor's Office and torched a section of the building. They also set ablaze the office of the permanent secretary in the Government House, Mr. Uche Udedibia, located opposite the Governor's Office. From there they left for the House of Assembly building and the judiciary complex adjacent to it where they also wrecked havoc. Dr. Alex Ekwueme park in Awka was also set ablaze. The hoodlums made bonfires around the Aroma Junction on the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway and shot sporadically into the air. People within the junction and its environs scampered for safety while the invaders had a field day. They danced, smoked and beat their drums unmolested. The group of gun-totting youths also armed with matchets and axes later headed to the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) building close-by and set it on fire. They also burnt down the government owned Ikenga Hotels and the Women Development Centre, located some two kilometres away from the ABS station. Members of the Anambra State House of Assembly had as at yesterday afternoon taken to their heels leaving their quarters at the Iyi-Agu estate to appear like a ghost town. But the majority leader, Mr. Ozo Ughamadu, said that before they left, the legislators met at the house of the Speaker, Mr. Mike Balonwu, with the mace and reviewed the situation. He denied that the state was in crisis. The attackers came from outside the state to attack people and vandalise properties. He accused those he called members of the Uba group of using the PDP rally to flag-off the campaign for the December 18 council polls to cause mayhem so that a state of emergency would be declared. Also, Governor Chris Ngige speaking through his aide, Mr. Fred Chukwuelobe, said his absence from Awka was not in connection with the on-going mayhem and should not be interpreted to mean that he has abdicated his responsibilities. He explained that he is still in Abuja to straighten out some undisclosed issues with Federal Government officials. He has however not given a date for his return. The security meeting called at the instance of President Obasanjo was scheduled after Ngige came to the State House yesterday afternoon to report to the President that there was a security problem in his state. Those expected to attend today's meeting are the National Security Adviser, Lt. General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, Inspector General of Police, Balogun, Ngige and other security chiefs. The Senior Special Assistant on Media Matters to the President, Mrs. Oluremi Oyo, who disclosed the news of the security meeting while briefing State House Correspondents yesterday stated that "President Obasanjo has called for a high-level security meeting tomorrow morning (today), to discuss the security situation in Anambra. The decision followed the briefing that he got this afternoon, (yesterday) from Governor Ngige." "It was for this that the President ordered this urgent security meeting on the situation because it is essentially a security problem. "I want to place on record that the President has met several times with all those who are stakeholders in Anambra. I am not talking of the era of former Governor Chinwoke Mbadinuju. I am talking of the era of this current governor.� Oyo added that "the President has done all that is humanly possible and has spoken several times. He has held separate and joint meetings with all the stakeholders in Anambra. It is in continuation of his responsibility to the country and to the people of Anambra and their government that he has again set to have this meeting," Oyo stated. Meanwhile, the eldest son of the late Owelle of Onitsha, Chief Chukwuma Azikiwe has implored the Ngige and Uba factions of the PDP to embrace dialogue. Azikiwe, who regretted that the sudden outbreak of fresh violence in the state capital has caused the postponement of this year's Zik annual lecture, said the postponement was necessary in order not to jeopardise the safety of visitors to the event. On whether the activities of the hoodlums have caused sufficient breakdown of law and order in the state to warrant the imposition of a state of emergency, Azikiwe said "none of the conditions exists for now. What we have is a random act of destruction being perpetrated by some hoodlums who can be arrested by law enforcement agents." However the Anambra State police command has stated that the situation in the state capital has returned to normal. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Kolapo Shofoluwe insisted that not only is the police capable of handling the situation, it has brought the mayhem under control.
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