Anambra government gets tough on crime, as Gov. Soludo launches operation Udo Ga-Achi

Stanley Ihedigbo

Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo has launched a bold initiative to tackle the security challenges facing Anambra State.

The Anambra Homeland Security Law 2025 and the special security operation, “Operation Udo Ga-Achi,” aim to provide a safe and secure environment for all citizens.

According to the Commissioner for Information, Anambra State, Dr. Law Mefor, the Governor, who signed the Homeland Security Law 2025 earlier today, stated that the law provides a framework for community/citizens’ ownership and participation in sustainable security and social re-engineering.

According to Governor Soludo, Operation Udo Ga-Achi is a special intervention force that complements regular policing. It is designed to enhance intelligence gathering, reward whistleblowers, enhance rapid response, and urgently root out criminals from every camp in Anambra State.

The Governor noted that the state’s security challenges are complex and hydra-headed, requiring a comprehensive and sustainable response. He emphasized that the state government is determined to fight criminality and ensure that Anambra becomes the safest state in Nigeria.

Key components of the Anambra Homeland Security Law 2025 include the establishment of a new vigilante architecture, Agunechemba, to assist and complement federal security forces, deployment of technology, including tracking systems, command-and-control systems, and AI-powered surveillance cameras, the establishment of a State Call Centre with toll-free lines and payment of monthly security support grants to communities, as well as payment of a monthly bonus of N10 million to Divisional Police Offices that record zero violent crimes

The governor also announced that the state government would review the assistance provided to existing correctional centers and embark on building new ones.

He further stated that the government will work with the Commissioner of Police and DSS to identify top LGAs with violent crime histories.

Governor Soludo called on communities to set up security governance structures urgently and encouraged each community to design and execute its own “cleansing or restoration programme.”

He also reiterated the state government’s extension of the hand of friendship and amnesty to kidnappers, cultists, drug dealers, and other categories of criminals, urging them to surrender their arms and embrace rehabilitation.

The Governor emphasized that security is a collective responsibility and called on all citizens to support the efforts of the state government in ensuring the safety and security of Anambra State.