THE Commissioner for information in Anambra State, Don Adinuba, said there had not been a single bank robbery incident in the state for seven and a half years; but his claim is exaggerated.
He spoke on a programme monitored on Arise Tv Wednesday morning, challenging anyone with a contrary opinion to come forward. He claimed the state was very safe until the advent of the Anambra 2021 election.
“Anambra is very safe until now. There has been no single bank robbery in the past seven and a half years in Anambra. I repeat, no single robbery in the last seven and a half years.”
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According to him, the security situation in Anambra is political.
He accused an unnamed contestant in the forthcoming Anambra election scheduled for November 6, 2021, as the primary culprit behind the current crisis in Anambra, claiming the particular candidate wants a state of emergency to be declared to be installed as the administrator.
“Someone in the race is very close to Minister of Justice and attorney general of the federation and wants state of emergency here so he can be in charge.”
He also speaks with confidence about the chances of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, in the coming election, claiming the party will win convincingly.
He concluded by praising the good works been done by Governor Willie Obiano administration in the education and other sectors.
The ICIR verified the claim of the Commissioner and discovered that there were a few cases of bank robbery in the state within the reported time though denied by the Anambra Police Command.
Indeed there were bank robbery incidents which the police claimed were unsuccessful.
On July 2, 2017, The Premium Times reported that the police arrested two suspected bank robbers in Anambra, a claim denied by Mark Ijarafu, the then Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ogidi division.
According to Ijafaru, “A three-man robbery gang at about 1 am on June 24, stormed one of the Union bank branches located at Nkpor.
“They tied the security man’s hands at his back, cut the iron door with a machine before gaining entrance.
“Their target was to open the vault and cart away money, but they could not cut the fourth barrier after cutting three others.
“Although their operation lasted till about 5.00 am, they only made away with a laptop.”
Also, on April 7, 2021, The Guardian Newspaper reported a bank robbery case with the headline “Bank Robbery: Anambra police confirm death of two students by stray bullets.”
The report claimed that two students died from stray bullets during the incident, but the then Command’s spokesman, Ikenga Tochukwu, reacting to the story, said there was no attack on any bank in the state, as being reported, and claiming the gunmen were hoodlums.
He said the Command received a distress call on shootings close to Oye Olisa Market and First Bank in Ogbunike, Oyi Local Council and immediately mobilised security operatives for operation.
He said: “To set the records straight, Anambra State Police Command, about 3 pm on that day, quickly mobilised Police operatives to the scene.
“The hoodlums, who had set two vehicles ablaze, on sighting the responding Police teams, fled the scene, shooting indiscriminately.
“Unfortunately, stray bullets from the hoodlums hit two students on transit. They were rushed to the hospital and later confirmed dead by a medical doctor,” he concluded.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance