Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has revealed that nearly all the individuals arrested for kidnapping and related crimes in the state are of Igbo origin, countering widespread claims that Fulani herdsmen are behind the insecurity in the region.
Speaking during a town hall meeting with the Anambra Diaspora Community in the United States on Monday, Soludo said that 99.99% of those arrested for kidnapping and other criminal offences in the state are Igbo youths.
“I’ve been in office for over three years. Out of every 100 criminals and kidnappers arrested, 99.99% are Igbo youths,” he stated. “It’s Igbo kidnapping Igbo, and Igbo killing Igbo. All the criminal camps are manned by our own people.”
The governor debunked the narrative that Fulani herdsmen are responsible for insecurity in the state, describing it as misleading propaganda that pushed many young Igbos into the forest under false pretenses.
According to him, many of the youths ventured into kidnapping for ransom after being drawn into fraudulent activities like internet fraud and drug trafficking. “After drugs and Yahoo Yahoo, the next big thing for them is kidnapping,” Soludo noted.
His comments come in the wake of a deadly attack in Ogboji, Orumba South LGA, where gunmen killed over 13 individuals, reportedly from Ebonyi State. The state government attributed the incident to internal disputes within the Ebonyi community and insisted it was not ethnically motivated.
Following the attack, the Anambra State Police Command arrested a suspect, Sunday Mbanu, and described the violence as the handiwork of destabilising forces.
