Okpoko community disclosed that ANSEPA employs the services of daredevil thugs who often besiege the community in odd hours of the day – sometimes, as early as 4am – armed with cudgels and wood, going from house to house to terrorise residents, beating and maiming those who fail to pay the alleged illegal levy.”
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The member representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Afam Victor Ogene, has called on the Governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Soludo, to intervene in the illegal and violent activities of agents of the Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency, ANSEPA, in the name of sanitation levy collection in Okpoko Community.
He urged him to urgently intervene in order to prevent total breakdown of law and order in Okpoko community, adding that the state government, should also, in clear terms, address the contentious issue of the 2021 and 2022 sanitation levy in the area, so as to conclusively resolve the disagreement and avert a looming security danger in Okpoko.
He made this call in a statement issued in Awka on Thursday, October 19, 2023, after receiving a Save Our Soul (SOS) letter by the leadership of the Okpoko community, over their recent harrowing experiences in the hands of agents of the government agency.
The SOS letter by the leadership of Okpoko community, the most populated area in Ogbaru Federal Constituency, was presented after a massive protest by residents of the community, who accuse ANSEPA of illegally and violently demanding 2021 and 2023 sanitation levy, which they said government had already “taken care of,” seemingly during the last governoship campaign period in the state.
Narrating their ordeals in the letter, the Okpoko community disclosed that ANSEPA employs the services of daredevil thugs who often besiege the community in odd hours of the day – sometimes, as early as 4am – armed with cudgels and wood, going from house to house to terrorise residents, beating and maiming those who fail to pay the alleged illegal levy.
According to Hon. Ogene, such cruel approach to revenue collection is condemnable and ought not to be encouraged in a democracy and any civilised society.
He said future: “While I am not against revenue generation by government, such activities should be undertaken in a legitimate, civilisedaceful and fair approach that would not threaten the peace of the people.
“I, therefore, call on Governor Soludo to urgently call ANSEPA management to order, especially the contractor responsible for the collection of levy from Okpoko and Ogbaru Local Government Area in general, in order not to ignite crisis and bad blood between the community and government agencies, that may potentially engulf the state.”