A desperate Save Our Soul (SOS) distress call has gone to the Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, again, from the troubled Lilu Community, in Ihiala Council of Anambra State.

Youths of the community under the aegis of Concerned Youths Organisation of Lilu, disclosed that the burgeoning insecurity, abductions, and wanton killing of the natives, as well as unbridled arson, have literally become a daily occurrence in the community, making the call inevitable.

Speaking to journalists who were on a spot assessment tour of the community, the spokesperson for the group, who gave his name simply as Emeka, noted that no effort would be spared to get the full attention of the state and federal governments over the problems in the community.

Flanked by other members and natives in front of the remains of the St Andrew’s Anglican Church, which bore glaring marks of the wanton carnage of the hoodlums’ attack, the youths urged Soludo to declare a state of emergency on insecurity in Lilu Community immediately.

He insisted that it’s only the declaration of emergency in the area that would see to the flushing out of the hoodlums and restoration of sanity in the area.

The group also called for the decentralisation of the “One Youth, 2 Skills” programme of the state government to benefit more participants. This, Emeka noted, would enable so many idle, jobless, uneducated and unskilled youths in and around the community to get enrolled in the programme.

He noted that most “feel timid, reluctant and ashamed to travel the long distance from Lilu to Awka to inquire or register for such a programme, no matter how beneficial”.

He said: “It won’t be surprising to petition the National Assembly, the United Nations, European Union, President Donald Trump, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and ASATU since it’s now very obvious that the Anambra State government has no serious interest or commitment in our predicament.”

The youth body expressed frustration at the situation where “nearly 70 per cent of Lilu Community, including Umuezeala, Eziorsu, Umuodochi, Uhualabor, and Enugwu-ezenduru villages, among others, have been completely taken over by the gunmen.” The Concerned Youths believed that a sustained few-hour engagement against the hoodlums would rout and eliminate them. (The Guardian)

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