Thirty-four people killed in less than one month in Awka – Lawmaker

Henry Mbachu, representing Awka South I in the Anambra House of Assembly, said that from Easter Sunday till date, 34 persons have been gunned down in Awka and its environs alone.

He said the situation is worrisome and disclosed that he plans to hold a security summit within his constituency on 29 May.

The lawmaker gave this indication in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Awka on Monday.

Mr Mbachu, a Labour Party lawmaker, said that in the space of one month, 34 lives had been wasted in Awka and its environs in the name of cultism.

He said the crime needs to be discussed at a roundtable where “we will all brainstorm to proffer solutions that will be submitted to the government.

“The summit will throw up suggestions that will help in ending cult killings.

“It looks like these cultists have overwhelmed the state apparatus charged with law enforcement and security services,” he said.

He appealed to traditional and community leaders, faith-based organisations, and youths in the constituency to take ownership of their lives and stop the menace.

“As your representative in the state assembly, I am pained about the rate of killings in the name of cultism and wish to find a permanent solution.

“We must separate cultism from crime as the presence of many security outfits, the construction of gates in all the villages and business areas have not been able to end the high wave of cult killings,” he said.

Mr Mbachu disclosed that the state legislature has passed the anti-cultism bill, which is awaiting Governor Charles Soludo’s assent.

In his reaction to the lawmaker’s remark, the police spokesperson in Anambra, Tochukwu Ikenga, said that the police have been doing their best to end cultism in the state.

He said that the police would always partner with anybody in the fight against insecurity in the state.