THE Anambra State Government has sacked eight operatives of the Agunechemba Security outfit for brutally assaulting and publicly stripping a female National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member, Jennifer Elobor.
Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s Special Adviser on Community Security, Ken Emeakayi, announced this on Wednesday August 20, at the agency’s headquarters in Awka.
“The Soludo administration will not tolerate any form of unprofessionalism, brutality or abuse of office by security operatives. Any officer found guilty of misconduct will face immediate dismissal and prosecution,” he said.
The ICIR reported earlier that Cyprus Onu, the lawyer to Elobor, who appeared on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday alleged that the the sacked officers threatened to rape and kill the corps member for speaking out during her ordeal.
Onu explained that he had written a petition to the state government demanding that those persons be prosecuted, noting that he would follow up the case to also ensure compensatory damages.
In his latest remarks, the governor’s aide said that the government moved promptly upon receiving reports of the incident and confirmed that the operatives would be handed over to the police for prosecution.
He explained that the dismissed officers were chasing suspected cultists on Tuesday when they assaulted the corps member- an act he described as “totally outside the mandate of the agency and utterly condemnable.”
He stressed that the incident would mark a turning point in reforming the outfit and rebuilding public trust in community security operations.
Emeakayi further noted that the government had covered Elobor’s medical expenses, replaced her damaged belongings including a laptop and phone and issued a public apology to her family, the NYSC, and the general public.
The ICIR reported that videos of the incident which surfaced on Tuesday showed armed men in plain clothes storming the corps members’ lodge in Oba community, Anambra State, where they were seen beating and harassing the corps member.
Emeakayi, on Tuesday confirmed that the men seen in the video were members of Operation ‘Udo Ga-Achi,’ also known as the Agunechemba Vigilante Group. He condemned the assault.
Similarly, the NYSC condemned the attack and described it as “unacceptable and dehumanising,” in a statement on Wednesday pledging full support for the police investigation to ensure justice.
The institution also stated that it had begun offering psychological support to the victim while reaffirming its commitment to the welfare and safety of corps members.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.