He stated the command knew the suspects and had arrested a few of them.

Echeng stated this on Monday whereas addressing newsmen in Awka, the state capital, including that the command had vowed to go after them and take care of them.

Echeng additionally refuted the hearsay that the gunmen killed a kidnapped lawmaker within the state, Okechukwu Okoye, due to his refusal to pay ransom. He stated he was by no means conscious that ransom was demanded or paid for the lawmaker.

“There may be nothing unknown concerning the gunmen terrorising Anambra State, to warrant calling then “unknown gunmen.” We now have been saying that “unknown gunmen” is just not the fitting identify for these criminals. We try to mystify one thing that’s not simply there.

“It’s time we go into demystifying them. These persons are not spirits, they dwell with us, they’re our nephews, our cousins, our brothers, and so they dwell in communities. We all know who they’re.

“The issue of safety is that of whole silence as no person sees one thing, no person hears one thing and no person says one thing,” the CP stated.

In line with him, “Crimes are localised, and so they occur in our communities. We must always be capable to provide you with data of what’s occurring in our communities, not glorifying them and tagging them “unknown gunmen,” in any other case we are going to find yourself not making headway. We all know them, we have now really arrested a few of them and they’re human beings.

“I would like us to additionally shift the narrative that these criminals are Fulani. We now have arrested some and brought out some throughout gun duels. So, when the communities that ought to assist to contribute to safety determine to remain quiet, that’s not signal.”

Recalling the incident of final Monday, the commissioner stated, “Final week an individual I didn’t know advised me {that a} workforce of gunmen have been working at Umunze in a Hummer Jeep, I despatched a workforce after them, and we have been advised they’d moved to Umuchu and we pursued them and have been in a position to take out 4 of them.

“I don’t know the person who gave me the knowledge, however we used the knowledge to combat the criminals. That black Hummer Jeep you see there (pointing to it) was recovered from the criminals.

“You may see what data can do. That’s how highly effective data is, and we count on individuals to provide data.”