By Chidi Nkwopara

CRIMINAL activities, especially the serious ones, have been on the increase in Imo Sate for a long while now. Time was when commercial banks were brazenly attacked by rampaging hoodlums. Even those situated at shouting distance away from the state police Headquarters in Owerri, were not spared.

Naturally, the security agencies got serious bashing from the citizenry and they sat up. When the police and other security organizations seemingly found the antidote for this ugly development, the criminals changed tactics. They started attacking private homes, churches, commercial vehicles and any other vulnerable place with fury.

Not satisfied about being forced out of their damnable activities, the hoodlums shifted from petit- stealing and added kidnapping into the criminal lexicon of the state. The rich, the poor and lowly, including impressionable toddlers, became victims of these criminals.

Payment of ransom

The list of those kidnapped is very long. Truth is that while some were left out of the hook after paying huge sums as ransom through members of their immediate family, others were not so lucky. There were those that were killed by their captors, even after ransom was paid and collected by the criminals.

Fear gripped the people. Movement became forcefully restricted. Every person became suspicious of every other person. Night life virtually disappeared. Business suffered downward plunge. People learnt to go to bed early.

Perimeter fences in private homes were raised to high heaven and all manner and designs of burglary proofs were installed. These were all aimed at warding off intruders. The affluent in society started applying for armed personnel to beef up their security.

The presence of armed security personnel in some family homes did not do the magic for all persons. The likes of former Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Chief Godffrey Dikeocha, former Commissioner for Health, Dr. Vin Udokwu and former Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Chioma Ogoke fell victims to the onslaught of the dare-devils.   They were kidnapped at various times, places and circumstances.

*Gov Okorocha

Irked by this ugly development during his time, the Ikedi Ohakim administration sent an executive bill to the State House of Assembly to check the crime. After tinkering with the bill, the lawmakers slammed maximum sentence on anybody found guilty of the offence. This law remains effective till date.

Available records show that some of the kidnap matters are in various courts in the state and they are in various stages of the legal processes, while the accused persons are in prison custody.

The immediate past administration floated what it termed “Operation Festival”. It also bought and distributed a number of double cabin Toyota Hilux vans to the security agencies for their use in fighting crime and criminals.

The Principal Secretary to Imo State Deputy Governor, Emenike Ihekwoaba, an architect, was the latest government functionary that was recently abducted by unknown gunmen at Amaraku Junction, Isiala Mbano local council area of the state.

Crime Alert investigations showed that Emenike, was on his way to his Nkwerre country home with his wife and driver before he was ambushed and whisked away to unknown destination by the armed hoodlums.

Confirming the ugly incident, the Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor on Media Affairs, Chief Onyema Opara, disclosed that hoodlums reportedly squeezed the huge frame of the Deputy Governor’s Principal Secretary into their vehicle’s booth and zoomed off. As at the time of going to press, it was not clear if he had regained his freedom.

The Rochas Okorocha administration equally inherited a surging crime situation. It so overwhelmed him that he quickly launched “Community Policing” outfit. He equally bought several vehicles and distributed to the police, army, State Security Service, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.

According to the Secretary

to the Government of Imo State, SGI, Professor Anthony Gozie Anwuka, “the greatest challenge facing the Rocha Okorocha administration is the palpable insecurity in the land”.

Continuing, the fiery former university administrator said: “Initially, we opted to parade criminals in their villages. This did not attract the expected dividend. The kidnappers and criminals became toughened and started operating on higher grounds than government’s earlier plan. The Governor feels sufficiently worried about the level of insecurity in the land”.

Kidnapping and armed robbers

Today and in line with the provisions of the anti-kidnapping law, the present administration has since started destroying any home where kidnappers and armed robbers use as their havens. Not even farmlands and community shrines are spared.

“Any shrine found to be the abode of kidnappers would be destroyed by government without recourse to anybody. The same is applicable to farmlands. Such a land automatically becomes government land. Royal fathers and town union executives are therefore warned to ensure that criminals are not given sanctuary in their areas”, Anwuka warned.

There is a pertinent question that should be asked at this juncture. How does anybody imbibe criminality as a stock in trade? Are the criminals living in the moon? Do they not have brothers, sisters, friends, fathers and mothers?

A critical research carried out by Crime Alert showed that these criminal tendencies usually start like a child’s play from their respective homes. Most parents either neglect or refuse to curb it at its infancy. The children grow with it and become largely uncontrollable over time.

Successive governments have some blame in breeding criminals. The armed uprising by youths of the Niger Delta Region largely started because of unfulfilled promises by government. Their communities became anything but areas unfit for human habitation.

Wallowing in abject poverty

Why would the huge money realized from the sale of the liquid gold in their backyard be used in transforming other places while they continued to wallow in abject poverty and need? The anger boiled over and took up arms.

Here in Imo State, some

communities have not been finding things easy. The Area K, World Bank Housing Estate, Owerri, has remained a thorny issue. Only a few days ago, People from Ndiokwu-Owerre Ebeiri, Orlu local council area, protested what they called “government’s unfulfilled government’s promises”.

The visibly angry villagers, including widows, children and even the physically challenged persons, carried placards bearing varying inscriptions that castigated government. The leader, Mazi Innocent Udeagwu regretted that government has reneged on its earlier promises to the community in regard to the Timber Market.

Udeagwu recalled with grief that the community is hosting not fewer than five government projects but there was nothing to show for their sacrifice, adding that for peace to reign, government must adhere to the terms of their agreement.

Speaking also, the Chairman of Umudiaku village, Mr. Daniel Igwe, called on the government to desist from further acquisition of their land, pointing out that takeover of their lands could deprive them of farmlands and this is an open invitation to hunger and starvation in the community.

Suffering undue hardship

In his own speech, the Chairman of Ndiokwu Progressive Union, Mr. Okechukwu Ekezie, did not understand why they should suffer undue hardship after giving full support to the new administration.

The foregoing amply explains how and why anger builds up in some communities. Nobody will be shocked if the criminal elements go beyond the peaceful protest to adopt other unorthodox methods of showcasing their anger. Bad blood builds but it must be said that there are the chronic criminals that enlist their own acolytes.

The rich amongst us are equally not helping matters. The way some of them flaunt their sometime ill-gotten riches, is very tempting. Only a handful of such rich people extend helping hands to the less privileged close to them.

The cliché in some villages, especially amongst unemployed youths, is that if the rich feel reluctant to part with their money peacefully, then they must be prepared to part with it by force. That is how the aggrieved craft other ways of getting it by force. Crime build!