Barely 24 hours after gunmen attacked Nigerian Navy checkpoint in Anambra State, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, has redeployed the state’s Commissioner of Police (CP), Monday Kuryas, and replaced him with Christopher Owolabi.
Also redeployed by the IGP after the attacks were two Deputy (DCPs), 14 Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACP), and other mid-level officers within the command that were also considered not been effectively policing the state, as part of the move to boost the security of lives and property in the state.
While announcing that Kuryas has been redeployed to the Anti-Fraud Section of the Force Headquarters Annex, Lagos, the police boss stressed that the redeployment would not be limited to Anambra alone, saying, other states of the South-East and South-South geo-political zones of the country will also be affected.
Baba stated that the move was part of the ongoing efforts at re-ordering, overhauling, and strengthening the security and policing architecture as well as improve the operational efficiency of the commands and enhance public safety and security in Anambra state.
Through a statement released on Friday by the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Frank Mba, the Inspector-General charged the new Commissioner of Police in Anambra State to take adequate measures in consolidating and improving on the gains of his predecessor.
He further charged the CP to rejig the security apparatus of the State, harness the full potential of the command – its workforce, assets, and stakeholders – in advancing the collective safety of all citizens.
The IGP equally enjoined the people of South-East and South-South zones to cooperate with the Police and other security agencies to enable them to succeed in the responsibilities of safeguarding them and the commonwealth of the nation.
It would be recalled that preliminary investigation revealed that the hoodlums arrived at the checkpoint in an unmarked tinted vehicle and started shot at the law enforcement agency
Ikenga, who declined comment on whether there was any casualty during the attack, said efforts were ongoing to apprehend those behind the attack.
He also denied social media reports that there was another attack at the Bridgehead, Onitsha, on Wednesday, assuring the public of the command’s resolve to flush out criminals from the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that hoodlums killed no fewer than nine persons including minors, in Ukpomachi village, Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area of the state early Monday morning.
The incident had left students of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU) in Anambra, living off the Igbariam campus, to flee their off-campus lodges for fear of reprisal attack.
