Alarmed by the rising cases of murder and kidnapping in Enugu State, especially in communities within Udi and Ezeagu Local Government Area, leaders of Agbaja areas of Enugu State have resolved to confront the problem in their communities.
Agbaja Leaders of Thought, the umbrella association of Agbaja people in the state, has scheduled a high-powered meeting for Sunday 27th November,2022 to discuss the incidence and take far reaching decisions.
In the past few weeks, the group had interfaced with various arms of government as well as the security agencies in the state with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problem. The scheduled meeting is, therefore, a part of their ongoing search for a lasting solution to the crisis.
in a statement issued in Enugu Friday by (Prof) Chinedu Nebo, CON, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, the socio-cultural body said it felt duty bound to seek a way of curtailing the alarming incidents and protecting themselves and the citizenry from the criminals.
While it commended individuals and communities that have on their own or in conjunction with their neighbors, taken proactive steps to secure lives and properties in their areas, it noted that efforts should be redoubled to return the area to normalcy.
The statement said “in the past month, many people have been brutally murdered and our roads turned into death-traps by criminals who are hardly apprehended by the security agencies. The increasing incidents of kidnapping on the highways, the random shooting of farmers on their farmlands and the wanton acts of banditry in our villages have virtually shut down social and economic activities of ordinary people in our communities.”
According to Nebo, the incidents which are coming close to the Yuletide has the ability to threaten the impending celebration of Christmas “as many of our people around the world who ordinarily return home for the celebrations, are afraid to do so this time.”
It is expected that the meeting of major stakeholders in Agbaja land will analyse the present situation and offer solutions to curtail the rising insecurity in the short and long term.
The meeting which will hold on Sunday, 27th November 2022 in Enugu, will be attended by members of the Board of Trustees of Agbaja Leaders of Thought, Udi and Ezeagu Local Government officials, political representatives, select number of traditional rulers, select number of Presidents-General of our communities as well as other major stakeholders who will be invited individually.
