The Anambra State Police Command has intensified its security crackdown across the state following the arrest of a suspected member of a proscribed secessionist group during a coordinated early-morning operation in Ihiala.
Police operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, apprehended 25-year-old Friday Nnamdi Anyikame on November 20, 2025. According to the Command, the suspect was found in possession of two pump-action firearms and twenty-nine live cartridges.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ikenga Tochukwu, said the operation was intelligence-driven and part of ongoing efforts to dismantle armed cells threatening security in the state.
During interrogation, Anyikame “confessed to being an active member of an armed group and revealed that he operates from a criminal camp located in Ogbaru LGA,” the statement noted, raising concerns about the existence of organized networks operating from forested enclaves.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, fwc, mnips, PhD, commended the operatives for what he described as a “swift and coordinated response.” He directed an immediate escalation of surveillance and targeted raid operations across Anambra, stressing that the Command is closing in on more members of the group.
“We are determined to dismantle their criminal network in Anambra,” CP Orutugu assured, reaffirming the Command’s resolve to restore calm and deny criminal elements the freedom to regroup.
The Commissioner urged residents to remain vigilant and continue assisting law enforcement agencies with actionable intelligence.
“Ndi Anambra must remain watchful and support the Police with timely information to aid ongoing security operations,” he said.
The police emphasized that the latest arrest marks a significant step in ongoing counter-crime efforts amid rising concerns over armed activities linked to proscribed groups in parts of the state.
