CITIZENS COMPASS —Hundreds of protesters, mostly women from Awka in Anambra State, have gone nude over incessant cult related activities in the State.
They alleged police complicity against what they described as the “mindless killings of their kiths and kin by cultists”.
The protest took place on Wednesday, November 22, 2023.
The protest took off from the popular Ogbugbankwa Park to Eke-Awka Roundabout to Igwebuike, Parkers Junction, Ukwu Orji, Area Command, and culminated at Ogbugbankwa.
The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions such as “Enough is enough”, “Say no to bribery and corruption”, “We are not happy”, and “Our children, brothers, husbands, cousins, relatives are being killed on a daily basis”.
They carried a mock coffin, which they said signalled the burial of the cultists, just as they gave a seven-day ultimatum to the Anambra State Police Command to do the needful by arresting the perpetrators.
It was gathered that the protesters were drawn from Ezinano community and 20 villages in Awka.
Addressing the protesters, the Chairman of Ezinano Community, Tochukwu Nwokoye, said the protest was necessary to address cultists’ activities in Awka.
According to him, “It is our humble hope to have these cult-related killings to stop forthwith. Our brothers are going down on a daily basis due to cultism and cult-related attacks. We will not keep quiet and watch these heinous crimes and man’s inhumanity to man continue.
“It is time to put a stop to them. We are really in a very touchy situation. There is palpable fear everywhere. We cannot go back and come back in peace. We are really afraid. People are dying every day.”
One of the protesters, Chief Richard Onuorah, stated that the community would no longer condone the killings and maiming of their people.
He explained that they had cried their eyes out every day owing to the incessant cult-related killings in the community, even as he called for the immediate removal of some police officers in the command.
The protester urged the police to immediately remove the Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department, and the inspector working directly under him, alleging that they were aiding and abetting cultism in the area.
However, spokesperson, Anambra State Police Command, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, debunked the allegation saying, “The names mentioned are very experienced officers. They have been around, especially the Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of the SCID.
“The officers mentioned will be investigated. We cannot sweep the allegations under the carpet.
“As you can see, the state is mourning the former Governor of Anambra State, Dr Chinwoke Mbadinju. We will not want to heat up the state. We have asked the families of the deceased several times to come forward and prove their cases.
“The allegation that the Deputy Commissioner of Police was recently transferred from Rivers State is false. He has been around. We know his antecedents, that’s not to say that we’ll not investigate all the allegations levelled against the police.
