The Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo, signed the Homeland Security Law 2025 on Saturday, as part of his effort to rid the state of insecurity.

Delivering a speech during the signing, Soludo said security, law and order remain pivotal to the attainment of his vision of a liveable and prosperous homeland.

This was as he lamented that the character and dynamics of criminality in the Southeast and Nigeria have evolved and become hydra-headed, "and so our response must be thoughtful, deliberate and comprehensive, involving both the kinetic and non-kinetic agenda."

The governor recalled how his 78-year-old father spent 15 days in the den of kidnappers in 2009.

He continued, "Earlier that year, the oil moguls, Chief Anthony Enukeme (Tonimas), Chief Paul Okonkwo (Pokobros), Chief G.U.O Okeke, etc were kidnapped in the state. It was as if Armageddon had come. My predecessor tackled the menace head-on. However, in about 20 months before we assumed office in March 2022, a variant of the criminal gang under the guise of separatist agitation emerged with command-and-control centres. They killed policemen and soldiers at checkpoints and collected their guns. They attacked and burnt down many police stations. Sadly, most stakeholders kept mute. They set up camps in the bushes and forests and labelled themselves as 'liberators'. Most people did not pay attention and very few cared to ask how these people with arms will be feeding from month to month or year to year or how they will be funding their operations."

He said the so-called liberators turned on suspected politicians, killing innocent people without cause.

"We recall the gruesome murder of Dr. Chike Akunyili and many others in a commando style in crowded places. Candidates for the 2021 governorship election could not campaign freely especially in the south senatorial zone and the candidate for Labor Party, Mr. Obiora Agbasimalo, was kidnapped en route to a campaign event and has not been seen until date. No governorship candidate could hold a rally in Ihiala Local Government, and election could not hold there on election day," he said.

Soludo said because most of the kidnappings and killings happened during the political season, he and many others misread the situation as being largely politically motivated.

He said facts emerged later to show that the problem was deeper and structurally more systemic.

"On assumption of office, we met almost a war situation, with eight local governments literally under the total control of the criminals. We declared a state of emergency and responded massively: held security summit; inaugurated the Truth Justice and Peace Commission; engaged with multiple stakeholder groups; offered to re-train and re-integrate those in the bush if only they would surrender their arms; etc. We set up a vigilante strike force structure that worked with federal security agencies to root out criminals from our forests and remote areas. Within 12 months, we recovered the eight local governments under total siege.

"Over time, some of the criminal elements returned to some locations. Several of the diverse criminal gangs/camps claim to be Biafra agitators. The IPOB has repeatedly issued multiple press statements dissociating itself from the criminals in the bush but Simon Ekpa with his organized criminal gangs continued to wreck untold havoc, with kidnapping for ransom as their main source of financing. From the thousands of arrests so far, about 70% of the criminals are not from Anambra state: we understand that they flock to Anambra because that is where the money is. Second, kidnapping for ransom quickly became the most lucrative criminal enterprise—better than drug trafficking or oil bunkering. The NBS reported that about N2.2 trillion was paid as ransom in 2024. We estimate that for every one Naira reported, there is probably about 5-6 Naira not reported (amounting to more than N10 trillion in ransom payment in 2024. No sector of the economy, with little capital investment could muster that kind of revenue/return). With a culture that celebrates wealth without work and does not ask people for their source of livelihood, even kidnappers and drug barons are also celebrated," he said.

"Besides kidnapping and armed robbery, there are other related challenges which reinforce each other—cultism, drug epidemic, land grabbing and touting. Add to these the warped ideology and value system that increasingly celebrates ‘magical wealth’ (ego mbute) plus the resurgence of criminal idolatry which offers the criminals a sense of invincibility and hence their dare devil brutal activities. Idolatry is the fastest growing religion in the Southeast. Because these criminals in the bush have converted to idolatry, there is a serious clash of religions to the extent that it is no longer sacrilegious to kidnap men of God or even Reverend Sisters. The pointed and vicious threat to Christianity in the Southeast is not yet appreciated by many. Our various security agencies--- the Police, DSS, Army, Navy, Airforce, Civil defence, as well as our Vigilante and other special forces--- are doing their best to confront these crimes under the existing laws," he said.

As part of effort to curb insecurity, Soludo announced the launch of a special intervention force code named Operation Udo Ga-Achi, which translates to Operation Peace Shall Prevail.

He said the special intervention, as an emergency action, complements regular policing by upscaling intelligence gathering, reward whistleblowers, enhance rapid response, and urgently root out the criminals from any/every camp in Anambra State.

"It will also have special task forces on drugs, touting, cultism, and criminal idolatry. We will ramp up our civic and social reformation, and we invite the clergy, communities, teachers, and social crusaders to join in this campaign. They will be active in all nooks and crannies of the state, with patrols and pin-down stop-and-search operations as necessary." he said.

The governor then unveiled 200 security vehicles, just as he revealed that the special intervention force will have 2,000 personnel consisting of police, army, navy, civil defence, DSS, Agunechemba, amongst others.