Governor Chukwuma Soludo has said that security in Anambra State has significantly improved, citing the end of the years-long sit-at-home as evidence of progress.
Soludo spoke on Tuesday during his inauguration for a second term as governor at the Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka. The event was attended by prominent figures, including former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Olusegun Obasanjo, as well as Vice President Kashim Shettima.
“The debilitating one-sit-at-home is over, and our schools, markets, businesses, and public servants are back to work. Ndi Anambra says that ours is now the safest, or at least one of the safest states in Nigeria,” Soludo said.
He added, “I’m sure many of you flew into Anambra yesterday, being Monday. Previously, it was not possible.” The sit-at-home, which started as a protest against the arrest and detention of pro-Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu, had kept millions of residents indoors, closed businesses, and cleared the roads every Monday.
The governor cited milestones such as the dismantling of criminal camps and the return of residents during the festive season as evidence of the improving security situation.
“Some 62 criminal camps have been dismantled, and 8 local governments previously under total siege have been liberated,” he said.
Soludo highlighted that last December, Anambra had “its best Christmas season in decades,” with over 10,000 visitors per day to Solution City until 10 January.
He also credited the Homeland Security Law 2025 for reducing criminal activity in the state. Referring to a troubling trend among youth, he said:
“Anambra was being overrun by a new and fastest-growing religion and philosophy amongst our youth that promised and celebrated wealth without work. With the enforcement of our Homeland Security Law 2025, ‘Oso Soludo’ is real. Hundreds of these dangerous native doctors are on the run. The poster boy of the new phenomenon, Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki, has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to a jail term. His massive shrine has been destroyed as well.”
The governor said the state is committed to ethical and cultural revival, emphasizing values such as enterprise and integrity to protect youths from drugs, cultism, magic, and criminality.
“We are on a very serious crusade for ethical and cultural rebirth, going back to the roots of what made us great and unstoppable—values of enterprise and integrity, Akuluouno. That way, we can rescue our youth and secure the future,” Soludo added.
