Governor Chukwuma Soludo has dismissed eight operatives of the Agunechemba Security outfit in Anambra State after they were caught assaulting and stripping a female corps member, Miss Jennifer Elobor, in public.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Community Security, Ken Emeakayi, announced the dismissal at the agency’s headquarters in Awka on Wednesday, stressing that the operatives would also face prosecution.
According to Emeakayi, the operatives claimed they were pursuing suspected cultists on Tuesday but ended up brutalising the corps member, an action he described as “totally outside the mandate of the agency and utterly condemnable.”
He said, “The Soludo administration will not tolerate any form of unprofessionalism, brutality or abuse of office by security operatives. Any officer found guilty of misconduct will face immediate dismissal and prosecution.”
Despite pleas from the victim’s family and some officials of the National Youth Service Corps for a quiet resolution, the state government insisted that full accountability was necessary to serve as a deterrent.
Emeakayi added that the government had taken responsibility for the victim’s medical treatment, replaced her damaged valuables including a laptop and phone, and issued a public apology to her family, the NYSC, and the general public.
He stressed that the incident would serve as a turning point in reforming the security outfit and restoring public trust in community policing across the state.
As of press time, the Police Public Relations Officer in Anambra, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, had yet to confirm whether the dismissed operatives had been handed over for prosecution.
