Governor Soludo says 99.99 percent of kidnappers arrested in Anambra are Igbo, not herdsmen.
He warned against false narratives and blamed youth crime on fraud, drugs, and misinformation.
Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has stated that nearly all individuals arrested for kidnapping and other violent crimes in the state are of Igbo origin, debunking persistent claims that Fulani herdsmen are behind the region’s insecurity.
Speaking during a town hall meeting with the Anambra Diaspora Community in the United States on Monday, Governor Soludo clarified that data from arrests over the past three years clearly show that Igbo youths are predominantly responsible for these crimes.
“I’ve been in office for over three years. Out of every 100 criminals and kidnappers arrested, 99.99 percent are Igbo youths,” he said. “It’s Igbo kidnapping Igbo, and Igbo killing Igbo. All the criminal camps are manned by our own people.”
The governor warned against promoting the false narrative that Fulani herdsmen are to blame for the violence in the South-East, stating that such misinformation has lured many misguided youths into criminal lifestyles under deceptive motives.
According to Soludo, many young people involved in these crimes had initially dabbled into cyber fraud and drug trafficking. Eventually, he said, they transitioned into full-scale kidnapping for ransom, considering it a more lucrative path.
“After drugs and Yahoo Yahoo, the next big thing for them is kidnapping,” he noted.
Soludo’s comments follow a recent deadly attack in Ogboji, located in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State, where over 13 people, reportedly from Ebonyi State, were killed by gunmen. The state government has since described the violence as stemming from internal disputes within the Ebonyi community rather than an ethnically motivated act.
In the aftermath of the attack, the Anambra State Police Command confirmed the arrest of a suspect identified as Sunday Mbanu. The authorities attributed the violence to destabilizing elements operating in the area.
Governor Soludo reiterated his administration’s commitment to restoring security and peace across Anambra State, urging the public to be more discerning about the sources and motives behind insecurity narratives in the region. He stressed that addressing the root causes including unemployment, misinformation, and the glamorization of crime is key to reversing the disturbing trend of youth involvement in violence.
