Earlier today, the Chapter President, National Association of Seadogs, Onitsha branch, Mr Benjamin Agbala, led other members to visit the Onitsha Area Command where various items ranging from raincoats, umbrellas and boots where handed over to the Area Commander who expressed delight at the visit.
In his remarks, the chapter president thanked the police for doing everything possible to maintain peace and order in Onitsha whilst highlighting the latest crime trend where criminals waylay innocent citizens and dispossess them of their ATM cards which is then used to siphon money from their accounts. He called on the police to explore ways of setting up a department solely responsible for combatting this particular crime that appears to be gaining wild currency.
Responding, the Area Commander, ACP John Obuagbaka, thanked the association for it’s timely visit, feedback and items donated whilst noting the importance of such public collaborations in crime fighting. He acknowledged the upsurge in the spate of innocent citizens attacked for their ATM cards but called on some victims to also assist the police in the area of prosecution for, according to him, there had been cases where victims ended up displaying indifference in prosecuting.
He also seized the opportunity to extol the virtues of the National Association of Seadogs and in his own words,
“We want to thank and appreciate your association for this visit for we know the National Association of Seadogs to be a very open group that is not a secret organization that has nothing to hide and everything you’re doing is purely for the betterment and progress of society and the components of your society are responsible elements and not miscreants. It is made up of well educated, well organized people that are well cultivated in character and characteristics and so we really appreciate you and hope other associations can emulate from what you’re doing and build on this for the betterment of society”.
The chapter president responded by highlighting the various programs put in place to ensure the citizen is made aware of his civic and social responsibilities, like the citizens summit where the public is invited and relevant topics are discussed by authorities in the chosen topic to enlighten the public.
He remarked that the last two citizens summits, dwelt on vote buying and insecurity/armed banditry and opined that the 2020 edition would seek ways to look into the ATM theft matter with a view to encouraging victims to follow their cases to their logical conclusions of prosecuting their assailants whilst promising to extend an invite to the Area Commander so he can make presentations when the time comes.
The visit culminated in the official presentation of the aforementioned items.
Nonso Chukwudebe
Publicist
Onitsha
Photo Speaks
InlandTown! 2020
