Hoodlums wreak more havoc in Anambra
- Raze Governor's Office, Assembly Complex
From Lawrence Njoku (Enugu), Madu Onuorah (Abuja), Chuks Collins and Ijediogor Godwin, (Awka)
SHORN of his security aides by the Federal Government and lacking powers to deploy the Police, Governor Chris Ngige of Anambra State could do very little yesterday as the hoodlums who wreaked havoc in the state on Wednesday, returned with maniacal zeal.
The police, like day one of the mayhem, maintained their absence from the scenes of violence as the attackers watched the entire building razed. The commissioner of the state police command, Mr. Felix Ogbaudu, last night claimed helplessness in the blatant tragedy. In a television broadcast, he sought help from other state commands since his team has 'become overwhelmed'.
This time, the Governor's Office and all its annexes, the Deputy Governor's Office, the State Assembly Complex and the Women Development Centre were razed.
Also burnt in the midday madness was the Anambra State Broadcasting Service (ABS) located on the Enugu-Onitsha expressway, the Anambra State Women Development Centre and the office of the Chief Press Secretary to the governor.
The Ikenga Hotel was not spared as the place was completely vandalised with about seven cars belonging to the hotel and guests either completely burnt or vandalised.
Unconfirmed reports also said yesterday that about 24 persons have so far lost their lives. The figures, according to the source, were 19 in Onitsha and five in the state capital, Awka.
It was exactly 2.35pm.
With that accomplished, they returned to their buses and headed straight for the Women Development Centre where they broke the gates with cutlasses and axes and set the place ablaze.
However, rather than setting the Ikenga Hotel on fire, they vandalised it , chased away the guests and burnt several cars packed at the premises.
The agitated general manager of the hotel, who stood confused at the premises, Mr. Joseph Akabueze, described the incident as "unbelievable and ridiculous."
Narrating the incident to The Guardian at the premises of the hotel, he said: "It is very embarrassing and surprising that Anambrarians could do this kind of a thing to their property. It is a pity ... if it is our tax payers' money and revenue that will be used to replenish all these things and this is one of the pride of Anambra State."
Akabueze, who added that he was unable to quantify the loss, disclosed that the attackers wielded machetes, axes, and guns which they started shooting the moment they entered the gate of the premises to scare off staff, regretting that even the mobile policemen who have their office close to the hotel "stood to watch while the attackers had their way". "They only came 15 minutes after the attackers left but could neither say nor do anything", he added.
He disclosed that the entire bars, guest rooms, swimming pools and other facilities at the hotel were completely vandalised, adding however, that apart from minor injuries sustained by the security men at the gate, other workers sustained no serious injuries.
As at 3.00p.m. when The Guardian left the premises, guests including a former commissioner in the state, were hurriedly quitting the hotel.
The hoodlums later returned to the ABS headquarters at the Aroma junction, the frequency modulated station and set the entire place on fire. At the Aroma junction , they made bonfires and continued to chant their war songs. The fire at the legislative building was still raging as at 4.00pm when The Guardian left the place.
Meanwhile, three luxury buses whose owners were yet to be identified at press time were burnt at the Anasea junction, a boundary between Enugu and Anambra states while the carcasses were used to block the highway. An emergency route had to be created by the commuters for use.
At present, all the radio and television stations in the state have gone off the air. Armed banditry has within the two days shot up especially in Awka and Onitsha.
Earlier, in the day when The Guardian went round the government buildings - Assembly Complex, State Secretariat Building, the radio station and Government House, anti-riot policemen, who bore only knives and teargas canisters were seen preventing people from coming near the buildings. They claimed they were not allowed to carry arms, "through orders from above."
The Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Joe Ofokansi, accused "the Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, of aiding and abetting the people who are destroying public property."
He emphasised that it is clear to everyone that police was solidly behind the hoodlums, saying that, "afterall the state government gave him adequate notice of the impending danger well ahead of time, but he chose to look the other way."
Reacting to the development, Vice Chairman of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) South, Chief Chris Orajiekwe who was at the Aroma junction, bemoaned the level of destruction, blaming the destruction on the governor's private security outfit which he alleged attacked the PDP rally on Wednesday.
He dismissed insinuation that supporters of the party were the ones causing the mayhem, stressing that those who were burning down government property in the state were "aggrieved citizens".
Said he: "We held our rally yesterday (Wednesday) and it was peaceful. The people who are causing the confusion and burning everything in the state capital are aggrieved citizens. This is an indication that Governor Chris Ngige is not in charge in this state. So, I will call on the Federal Government to take control and save further hostilities."
He alleged that 19 supporters of the party were murdered at the Awada end of Onitsha during a clash with the Bakassi boys outfit sponsored by the government, adding that five also lost their lives in Awka, the state capital.
Orajiekwe added that there may be escalation of further hostilities if urgent action was not taken to address the situation. No government official could be reached for comments. Efforts made to reach the police commissioner proved abortive. His men who were hovering` round the town in open vans could not help matters as they were hailed at every location where the attackers were.
However, President Olusegun Obasanjo will this morning preside over a high level security meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to deliberate on the Anambra mayhem.
The meeting is ostensibly consequent to a briefing given to Obasanjo yesterday afternoon by Ngige.
Among those expected to attend the meeting are the National Security Adviser, Lt. Gen. Muhammed Aliyu-Gusau, Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Alexander Ogomudia; Service Chiefs, Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun and the Director-General of the State Security Services, Col. Kayode Are. Gov. Ngige, being the Chief Security Officer of Anambra State would also attend.
Senior Special Assistant to the President Mrs. Oluremi Oyo, told State House correspondents that the meeting signifies renewed efforts to find lasting peace in the state. The President, she stated, is very concerned with the crisis in the state, noting that he has done his best to make sure there is peace in the state.
According to Mrs. Oyo: "President Obasanjo has called for a high-level security meeting for tomorrow (today). This followed a briefing he got from Ngige. Ngige is attending the meeting as the chief security officer of Anambra State. He is the only politician from Anambra State invited to the meeting. The governor gave the president a full briefing on the problem. It is based on this that the security meeting is being called. The problem is essentially a security problem.
"The President has done all that is humanly possible to bring the crisis to a stop. He has met several times with all the stakeholders in Anambra State. This is not just during the regime of the former governor. I am talking of this era of Ngige. And it is in continuation of the obligation he owes not just to the people of Anambra State but the whole of Nigeria that the meeting is holding. The President is optimistic that he will help the people of the state find solution to the problem. Again, the President has invited, several times, all the stakeholders in the state."
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