The General Secretary, Arewa Community in Anambra State, Mr. Mahmud Imam, has expressed dissatisfaction that the police in Anambra State have yet to make any arrest since the killing of a woman and her four children by unknown gunmen.

Halira Jibrin, an Adamawa State indigene, with her four kids were killed by yet-to-be-identified assailants on Sunday and they were buried at the Uguaba-Gariki, Amansea on Wednesday.

Imam, in an interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday, regretted that no arrest has been made.

He said, “We woke up peacefully, but later that Sunday, we started receiving calls from our members that unknown gunmen had launched series of attacks in the community, which led to the deaths of about 15 persons, both indigenes and non-indigenes.

“What is more worrisome is that up until now, no arrest has been made. Could there be a conspiracy of silence? Are the security operatives saying that the so-called gunmen are more powerful than them? This only shows that the police are handicapped and it cuts across the country. So sad!”

The Zonal Chairman, South East Miyetti Allah, Cattle Breeders Association, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki, said the attack was not a targeted one as the gunmen went after both indigenes and non-indigenes.

Siddiki commended the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, for his efforts so far, at restoring security in the state, while noting that insecurity is not just Anambra problem but a nationwide challenge.

The state police spokesman, Tochukwu Ikenga, did not take calls made to his phone and also did not respond to a text message sent him as of the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, the President of Jama’atul Nasril Islam and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has decried the killing.

The Sultan, made his position known in a statement by the JNI’s Secretary General, Dr Khalid Aliyu, in Kaduna on Thursday.

He urged the authorities concerned to fish out the perpetrators and prosecute them.

The statement read in part, “Governments at all levels, in collaboration with different security agencies, must be up and doing against the tides of insecurities in whatever guise. Thorough proactive measures should be taken in nipping the situations in the bud before becoming uncontrollable.

“In that respect, we advise the governments to strategise and bring an end to orgies of killings happening in Nigeria. Desperate situations need desperate measures. Thus, constituting a joint task force to specially attend to the rising tide of killings in the South-East should be considered.” (The PUNCH)

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