The Anambra State government has dismissed media reports claiming it has engaged the services of traditional herbalists and spiritualists to fight insecurity in the state.
In a statement released by Christian Aburime, Chief President Secretary to Governor Charles Soludo, the state government, said while it is a general knowledge that government alone cannot fight insecurity, ”it is instructive to note that the story of engaging Traditional Spiritualists by Anambra State Government to fight insecurity is not true as being peddled by some mischief makers.”
The Secretary revealed that the state Commissioner of Information, Paul Nwosu had recently disclosed plans by the state government to ensure the registration of all herbalists and spiritualists in the state with the view of identifying those who are working with the assailants carrying out killings in the state.
”What the State Government has said as explained by the Commissioner of Information, Sir Paul Nwosu, is that Anambra State Executive Council (ANSEC) has approved the registration of Traditional Medicine Practitioners and categorized them under Herbalists and Spiritualists with a view to identifying those among them that support and protect criminals.
The Commissioner in his statement to the press practically stated: “Government has discovered that some native doctors provide charms with which gunmen operate and it has therefore become necessary to enumerate and register them as practitioners, categorized into Herbalists and Spiritualists:
The Commissioner further explained that “while government appreciates the fact that some of them add value to health care, it is also not unaware that some also have helped to imbue these criminals with the dare-devil confidence that has driven them into committing despicable crimes such as kidnapping, extortion of ransom, beheading, etc.”
He added that after the registration exercise, where they are found culpable of such crimes it will be easy to fish them out from the register.
Aburime said that the state government is just taking this step as part of its bold and holistic efforts to curb insecurity in the State.
The statement further read, ”Therefore, the news making the rounds that the State Government has engaged the services of Traditional Spiritualists to fight insecurity is completely false and unfounded.
Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo will continue to do everything possible to ensure that sanity, peace, law, and order are fully restored in Anambra State.”
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