Pandamonium erupted in the Awada area of the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra state, following the alleged invasion of the office of Awada Central Landlords Association by a combined team of Special Anti-Touting Squad, SASA and Agunechemba Squad who allegedly abducted a lady clerk and two Vigilante operatives attached to the Awada Central landlords association.

In Anambra state, the SASA men are known as Ndi Akaodo (Pestle Boys) because their Hummer buses patrol streets and highways while armed with pestles and machetes.

The SASA/Agunechemba combined team also allegedly destroyed properties worth millions of naira, including Vigilante vehicles, motorcycles, office doors, and windows, after which they were said to have bolted away with two assault English Pump Action rifles, telephone handsets, security gadgets and an unspecified amount of money running into thousands of naira belonging to the landlords association and the security operatives.

The alleged invasion, abduction, destruction, and carting away of their arms and other gadgets, according to the source, followed a scuffle between the angry residents of Orsumoghu Street, Awada, who allegedly mistook them for kidnappers.

On one side, the residents of Orsumoghu Street, Awada, and the Vigilante operatives attached to the Awada Central Landlords Association were at the center of the scuffle, and on the other, the SASA squad was on the opposite side.

According to the Chief Security Officer, CSO of the Awada landlords association, Uchechukwu Jude Ukachi, “The angry street boys attacked the SASA men otherwise known as (Akaodo) (Pestle boys) in Osumoghu security sector, and when my men who are the Awada central vigilantes were called and informed about the attack, I told my Commander, Chukwuemeka Okoye to send his boys and when they went there, they discovered that the street boys were exchanging banters with the Akaodo boys.”

When they saw my vigilante men who had come to know their mission in Awada, the Akaodo boys abandoned the street boys who were having an altercation with them and faced my men to ask them about their mission in Awada.”

“At once, the Akaodo boys launched a violent attack on my men; my Commander rushed to the scene and removed the keys of their Hummer bus, and asked my boys to go back to the office.”

“The commander returned and gave me the situation report while handing me the Hummer bus key.

When I saw it was a key to an official vehicle, I rushed to the scene to give them back their vehicle key but did not see any of them inside the car.

“When I asked the people around the area, they told me that all the Akaodo boys abandoned their Hummer bus and fled when the angry street boys intensified the attack against them.”

“I told them that if any of them come back to the vehicle, they should tell them that I, the CSO Awada, asked them to come and collect their key from our office, and I went back to the office.”

“My question now is how did this matter concern my office that warrants Operation Udo Ga Achi to accompany the Akaodo boys to our office to destroy everything, loot, and abduct my men?”

“They even went to the extreme by climbing upstairs to the office of Awada Central Landlords Association to break the doors and ransacked all nooks and crannies.”

“If I may ask again. How did the attack launched against the Akaodo boys by Awada Street Boys somewhere at Orsumoghu Street concern me and my men that warranted Operation Udo-Ga-Achi squad to come to our office to destroy and loot?’ I think it is a pure, calculated attempt and conspiracy designed to rubbish the name of my company, Jufuso Security Agency.”

Ukachi, who is the Chief Executive Officer, CEO of the Jufuso Security Agency, a Police Registered outfit based in Anambra state, stated that residents of Orsumoghu Street revolted against the woman’s arrest because according to them, the SASA men had no right to arrest a woman because her husband is merely accused of being a drug peddler, moreso, when the SASA men were being accused of frequenting the area with tricycles, harass and extort the residents.

“When I visited the scene and could not find any of the SASA men around to return their vehicle key, I quickly called the Divisional Police Officer at Awada Police Division, but his phone was not connecting, and I then called the Divisional Crime Officer, DCO and narrated the incident to him and he told me that the SASA men were threatening to come and attack the vigilante units in Awada.”

After hearing from the DCO that SASA men said they would come to attack us, I called my men and instructed them not to return the attack or shoot anyone if they came, and by the time I came back to the office, behold, the SASA men had invaded and unleashed the mayhem.”

“On informing the DCO that the SASA men had eventually attacked my men, he rushed to the scene, took inventory of the volume of damages done to Awada Central Landlords Association Office, and left.

“During the invasion, the combined team of Akaodo and Operation-Udo-Ga-Achi broke into the secretary’s office, financial secretary’s office, and the cashier’s office, ransacking the drawers and taking a huge sum of money belonging to the landlords association individually and collectively.”

“They abducted two of our men, whose names are Jideofor Ozoemenam and Chinedu Okonkwo, and the lady cashier also called Chinwe and drove off, saying that they would come back for another round of attack and that they would be frequenting the attacks on us until we are disbanded.”

At the time of filing this report, Ukachi told reporters that only the lady cashier had been released by the SASA men among the three abductees, while the two other victims who were alleged to have been battered by the abductors were still in their custody.

Lamenting that the SASA men are still threatening to stage a comeback, Ukachi warned that he would no longer sit back and watch them attacking his men again without returning fire for fire this time around.

Also speaking, Vice Chairman of Awada Central Landlords Association, Chief Walter Ohiri who spoke on behalf of the President, Chief Patrick Oyeduba (Obi Ebubediike), said the Orsumoghu Street residents were provoked by the manner with which these SASA men invade the area frequently to harass, intimidate and arrest innocent persons only to release them after extorting as much as N150,000; N200,000; N300,000 and N400,000 as the case may be.

The commander of Awada Landlords’ security outfit and his assistant also told newsmen that the SASA men collected their phones and many other security gadgets while leaving their office after wrecking all the havoc.

In his speech, the Commander of the Orsumoghu Street Vigilante unit, Awada, Chibuike Alfred, told newsmen that the SASA men stormed their office with Agunechemba, shouting, “No more security in Awada from today. ” They ransacked every nook and cranny and made away with their bulletproof vests, torchlights, machetes, and other security gadgets belonging to the unit.

But in a reaction, the Administrative Officer of SASA, who spoke to reporters in his office gate on anonymous condition, admitted that his men actually ransacked Awada Landlords office in search of their official vehicle key, which their security operatives seized, adding that the security operatives were the first to attack and inflict grievous injuries on SASA men, using their gun butts and machetes.

He, however, denied abducting any person or persons from the Vigilante office.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP Tochuckwu Ikenga, who confirmed the incident, said the police have waded into the matter and restored calmness, even as he disclosed that the police have engaged stakeholders to bring the three governmental agencies together for a round table discussion and amicable settlement. (Sunday Vanguard)