THE Anambra State government has said that it may appeal the judgment of a high court mandating it to remove roadblocks.
This was disclosed by Commissioner for Information Don Adinuba during an interview with The ICIR on Wednesday.
Adinuba noted that the implementation of the order might have negative implications on the state due to the existing security challenges.
“We have a peculiar security situation in Anambra. If that order is implemented, we may have serious challenges. I will have to speak to the attorney-general and some security operatives to see if we are going to appeal against it or if we have already done so,” he said.
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Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Anambra State Tochukwu Ikenga, also speaking with The ICIR, said the command was unaware of the judgment and added that the roadblocks had only served as observation points to tackle crime.
”I have not received any information on that. People call them roadblocks, but to us they are observation points in areas where there have been complaints of crime,” he said.
Ikenga also urged residents of the state who were affected by the roadblocks to be patient as efforts were being made to address insecurity in the area.
“This is a trying time for all of us and everybody should be patient. What we are doing is to address the security situation,” he said.
On Tuesday, Justice Ike Ogu, in the case of Francis Moneke v. Anambra State Govt. & Ors., delivered a judgment ordering the state government and the Police to remove roadblocks from major roads as they violated residents’ rights to freedom of movement.
The roadblocks had been mounted in various parts of the South-East for several months due to the security situation in the region.
This has made transportation more difficult for residents in many eastern states.
Before the Christmas festivities, members of the House of Representatives had asked the Police and security agencies to remove the blocks mounted along roads linking the South-East to Lagos and Abuja.
This was to aid free flow of traffic and reduce hardships encountered by travellers to and from the region during the Christmas period.
But roadblocks have remained along several roads in the South-East, causing difficulties for commuters in the region.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.
