By Izunna Okafor, Awka
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA Brigade), Mr. Celestine Anere, has reacted to trending reports and videos alleging that operatives of the Brigade were responsible for the killing of four persons, including a pregnant woman, during a disturbance at Onitsha Main Market on Tuesday.
Speaking in a telephone interview with this reporter, Chief Anere dismissed the reports as unverified and premature, noting that thorough investigations were already underway involving the Police, the Department of State Services (DSS), and his office to establish the actual cause of the incident.
According to him, while he had also seen the trending videos and read the allegations, it was important for the public to exercise restraint and await verified facts rather than drawing hasty conclusions and purveying unverified contents out of sentiments.
“The same way you’re hearing it is the same way I am also hearing it. But we are investigating. The DSS is investigating. The Police are investigating. After that, I will get and now give an official press statement and full details,” he said.
Chief Anere further explained that his standing operational procedure for the past three months requires that no officer of OCHA Brigade embarks on any form of enforcement at the markets without official clearance and authorization from his office. Unfortunately, he revealed that the team involved in the Tuesday incident flouted that directive and proceeded without his knowledge or approval/permission.
“For that reason, I have placed them in custody, and they will be handed over to the Police for further investigation. I never gave them any permission to go for enforcement at the market,” he stressed.
The OCHA Boss also confirmed that some persons sustained injuries during the incident and were receiving medical attention in different hospitals. He said he was personally moving around the hospitals to obtain first-hand information about the victims’ conditions, in order to guide his official statement.
While acknowledging that emotions were running high, Chief Anere cautioned against deliberate attempts to demonize OCHA Brigade, insisting that the agency’s mandate is strictly enforcement and orderliness in the state, which naturally attracts opposition from those who prefer lawlessness.
“OCHA Brigade is an enforcement agency, and nobody likes enforcement. So, street urchins and mischief makers will always seize opportunities like this to portray OCHA as killers or thugs. But that’s not true. We must wait for facts and details. Something led to this incident, and we must establish exactly what happened,” he added.
He also confirmed that in the aftermath of the incident, some angry traders and hoodlums invaded and looted OCHA Brigade’s facilities in Onitsha, further worsening the tension in the area.
Chief Anere reassured members of the public that the truth would soon be made public, and those found culpable — whether OCHA officers or otherwise — would face the full weight of the law. He called on Ndi Anambra to remain calm, patient, and law-abiding, while investigations continue.
“The important thing is that I’ve seen the videos. And I’m personally making sure that all is well and that we get the accurate details of what transpired. This requires careful investigation, and I assure Ndi Anambra that the truth will not be hidden,” he concluded.
Efforts by this reporter, Izunna Okafor, to get the reactions of the State Commissioner of Police and the Police Public Relations Officer on the incident proved abortive, as they both refused to respond to calls of inquiry as at the time of this publication.
