A delegation of Anambra State Government, on Wednesday, November 27, 2024, visited the people of Abatete, in Idemili North Local Government Area, to commiserate with them over the November 18 attack on some vigilantes of the community by gunmen suspected to be enforcing the Monday sit-at-home.

The delegation was made up of the Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Law Mefor, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, AVM Ben Chiobi (Rtd).

Addressing the leadership of the town, the Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor, who is not only an indigene of the town but a member of the Igwe-in-Council, consoled the people over the ugly incident and prayed for the quick recovery of the PG of the town, Chief Ezebinobi Chimame Ezigbo, who sustained a bullet injury during the attack.

Dr Mefor also expressed his commitment as a government agent and a major stakeholder in Abatete to work with the people till they get to the end of the matter and security is fully restored.

In his remarks, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, AVM Chiobi, described the incident as one of the hazards of the job, adding that the government is working to ensure it never happens again.

“We will do something. Although it will cause some disruptions and make some people uncomfortable, no one will be killed.”

He urged the leadership of Abatete to work towards sanitising the community, especially the Eke Agu axis, to make it safe, or the government will decide and take action for everyone’s interest, even as he suggested ways to improve security in the area such as CCTV cameras.

In their separate remarks, Chief Clement Analikwu, Obi Nsukwu Abatete and Obi of Ogbu Abatete, Chief Edwin Enyokwa, who represented the traditional ruler of the town, Igwe Emeka Efobi, thanked the government for showing concern to the Abatete people and assured that they would cooperate with the government in any way possible to curb insecurity in the town. They called for government assistance in burying the dead and defraying the expense incurred in the treatment of the town’s president general who was still hospitalized.

Also speaking, the 3rd Vice President of the Abatete Union, Sir Anthony Okwuchukwu Adibe, disclosed that the Igwe-in-Council is speeding up actions to hold the Abatete Security Summit, which they started planning before the incident, and called on the government to upgrade security patrol to Abatete, as the town cannot do much given the many roads that pass through the town, both federal and state.

In a vote of thanks, Chief Peter Ézè assured that the town would abide by all the government’s directives to curb insecurity in Abatete