By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu
Synergy between information and security anywhere in the world often leads to fulfillment of governments’ constitutional duty of ensuring safety of lives and properties.
Against this backdrop, Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr Law Mefor, paid a working visit to Special Adviser to Governor Chukwuma Soludo on Community Security, Hon. Ken Emeakayi, at his office in Awka, recently.
The visit centered on strengthening collaboration between the Ministry and the state’s security hierarchy amid ongoing efforts to rid the South-East state of crime and criminality.
Speaking during the visit, Dr Mefor commended the strings of successes recorded so far by Emeakayi and his team despite what he described as Anambra’s peculiar environment.
He said: “I am here to encourage you. Honestly, I sometimes sit back and wonder how you manage it. We are in a very peculiar environment where extreme negative behaviours are rife. Anambra is not like any other state in Nigeria.
“Here you have a diverse population. An Awka man is not like an Nnewi man. Things that would not happen in other states happen here.
“Yet, despite all the challenges you face, the remarkable success you and your team have achieved is commendable. Yes, there is room for improvement. But if you look at where we are coming from and how complaints are now rare, you will agree that we are doing well.”
The Commissioner stressed that security remains the foundation of the Soludo administration’s ‘Solution Agenda’, adding that the recent crackdown on fake pastors and criminal native doctors was not an attack on religion or tradition but a sanitation exercise backed by law.
“The war against fake and evil native doctors is the same thing as that of fake pastors, all under the Anambra State Homeland Security Law 2025. That law is obvious.
“The church won’t shield you, because it confers no immunity on anyone involved in criminality in the name of religion,” he noted.
The Commissioner pledged hands-on media support and proposed quarterly joint press briefings to improve public communication around their operations.
“I want to restate our pledge to support you. The Ministry of Information is willing to support and join you in any major operation. I would like to go with you personally—I don’t want to just send my staff… I am even contemplating a quarterly joint press conference—once every three months, we review the last quarter. The media will receive answers to their questions,” he said.
Dr Mefor said he noticed that traditional rulers and town unions do not appear to be doing their jobs and suggested that parts of the Homeland Security Law 2025 which explain the roles of Ndi Igwe (royal fathers) and town union presidents be taken out and “made simpler for community leaders who might not have time to read the whole document so they can do their jobs better.”
Responding, Emeakayi expressed gratitude for the visit and the Ministry’s support, describing it as morale-boosting for his team, even as he thanked Gov. Soludo for allowing them to serve and responding to their demands.
He explained that his office’s role is to assist the police, receive complaints, make arrests, conduct preliminary investigations, and hand over suspects with prima facie evidence for further investigation and prosecution.
*PHOTO CAPTION: Emeakayi (l) and Mefor after the meeting.
