Anambra State House of Assembly has urged Governor Chukwuma Soludo to call the attention of the Commissioner of Police, Anambra State Command, Mr Echeng Echeng, to return police checkpoints and patrol teams at intermittent positions in and around the state.
This is despite a court order which said that the government and police had no legal justification whatsoever to erect roadblocks on major roads in the state on the pretext of checking insecurity.
Recall that Justice Ike Ogu had in a judgment in the case of Francis Moneke vs Anambra State Government and Others held that such illegal blockage flagrantly violated the applicant’s right to freedom of movement and should be immediately removed to allow the free movement of persons and vehicles.
But the Assembly in a resolution on Wednesday said the call is based on the urgent need to curb the activities of gunmen and other criminalities.
The House passed the resolution following a motion of urgent public importance sponsored to that effect by the member representing Ekwusigo Constituency, Honourable Onyebuchi Offor during plenary.
Honourable Offor explained that the absence of police checkpoints and patrol teams is a security threat to the state as armed non-state actors could take advantage of it to perpetrate crime in the state.
The lawmaker maintained that if police checkpoints and patrol teams return on the roads, it will help in securing lives and property, especially along identified blackspots where crimes usually occur.
On his part, the Speaker of the house, Right Honourable Uche Okafor noted that the primary responsibility of government is to provide security for its citizenry and that is one of the cardinal objectives of the Soludo administration.
He further said that adequate protection of lives and property by the government gives the people a sense of security and deters criminals from operating.
