How Street Lights Reduced Crime In Onitsha-North — Chairman

Raymond Ozoji, Awka

The council chairman of Onitsha-North local government area of Anambra state, Hon. Patrick Aghadinuno Mba, says his street light project has reduced crime to zero level in Onitsha-North council area.

Mba said that the 32 streets in Inland town Onitsha which hitherto were flashpoints for criminal elements, have all been provided with street lights to illuminate the area at night to prevent crime.

The Onitsha-North council chairman who spoke with our correspondent in Onitsha, noted that prior to the street light project, Inland town Onitsha was the most criminal flashpoint in the country, pointing out that vices like cultism, rape and other heinous activities were very high in the area.

He said that the Governor has lighted up major roads in Inland town such as Awka road, Oguta road and some others but emphasized that there were some other roads in the villages and interior streets where hoodlums lurked at odd hours to perpetrate illicit activities.

Mba said his administration targeted such flashpoints and lighted up all the villages in Inland town, stressing that night economy has returned to the area and there is no cause for alarm over criminals invading and unleashing terror in the area. He said his administration keyed into Governor Willie Obiano’s security project and it indeed yielded positive results.

The Onitsha-North council chairman further noted that they have evacuated obstructions from the roads and also banned street trading but expressed worry that the traders defied governnent orders and still returned to where governnent has already prohibited. Though he said that market leaders could help caution their members to desist from flouting governnent orders, he expressed concern that the situation has not changed because traders kept flouting governnent orders.