Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has declared that the state has become one of the safest in Nigeria, attributing the development to sustained collaboration among security agencies and local vigilante groups.
Soludo spoke with State House correspondents shortly after meeting President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
He said the President’s message at the just-concluded National Economic Council (NEC) meeting on tackling insecurity nationwide was emphatic and reassuring.
“The President’s message was emphatic, and we’re quite excited to listen to the President and his determination to stamp out insecurity nationwide,” Soludo said.
Describing the protection of lives and property as the primary responsibility of government at all levels, the governor stressed that tackling insecurity requires systemic collaboration among the federal government, states, local councils and communities.
He commended the military, police, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and other paramilitary agencies for their roles in improving security.
Soludo also praised Anambra’s internal security architecture, including the state vigilante group, as well as anti-cultism and anti-touting units, which he said were working effectively to curb criminality.
According to him, 62 criminal camps have been dismantled in the state since he assumed office.
“And we’re not resting, not for one second,” he added.
The governor noted that improved security was evident during the 2025 Yuletide season, when residents and visitors moved freely across the state, boosting social and economic activities.
He lamented that criminals had held the Southeast hostage for more than five years through the enforcement of the Monday sit-at-home order, describing it as destructive to education, commerce and investment.
Soludo explained that each Monday lost translated to about 20 per cent of the workweek for many businesses and informal workers, weakening school hours and harming long-term human capital development.
He said the shutdown of major markets, including the popular Onitsha Market, dealt a heavy blow to the regional economy.
However, he disclosed that traders had recently returned to the market in large numbers, celebrating its reopening and renewed confidence.
The governor pledged to regenerate the Onitsha Market and restore it as a premier commercial hub in West Africa.
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