Lawrence Nwimo, Awka
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, BlueShield Security company Limited, High Chief Ọzọ Jeff Nweke, has pointed poverty and hunger as the main factors instigating youths to cultism and violent crimes in the Awka capital city.
Nweke made the disclosure on Wednesday at the Ezinano Community security summit in Awka, dismissing the notion that wealthy individuals were sponsoring cultism in the area.
“The big men in Awka are not behind crimes. We have heard people saying that big men in Awka are those organising and using cultists to kill. I want to correct that impression because it is not true. It is true we know the cultists because we can identify them through their parents, family members, siblings, village heads and so on.
“We don’t want them to be killed because killing has rendered many families fatherless, motherless and childless. The solution is about helping them to turn away from crimes and embrace skills. We want the police and other security agents to assist us to put them away from crimes and criminalities. The best way to do it is to work with us. We want them to be rehabilitated, empowered and reintegrated back to society,” he added.
At the summit, themed “Combating/Preventing Violent Crimes and Cultism in Awka Metropolitan City,” Nweke emphasised the need for interventions to address the root causes of the issue.
He stressed the importance of providing skills, training, and empowerment to the youth and women in order to prevent further devastation in families affected by violent crimes.
Nweke highlighted the role of joblessness and lack of skills among suspects involved in crimes and suggested rehabilitation, empowerment, and reintegration programmes to support those involved in criminal activities to steer them towards a positive path.
He said Awka community has initiated plans to empower women economically by disbursing N100m and creating opportunities for them to become employers of labour.
He called on the government to provide support in empowering the youth, organising seminars, and workshops to motivate and encourage the community.
The Anambra State Commissioner for Police, Mr Nnaghe Obono Itam, emphasised the importance of community involvement in addressing violent crimes and encouraged information sharing.
The Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim, announced plans to allocate 500 slots to Awka indigenes in the upcoming youth two skills scheme, empowering them with N500,000 each at the end of the programme to support their livelihoods.
