Anambra mulls passing law against illegal revenue collectors, touts

Maduako Igbokwe

Barely 24 hours some Hoodlums were arrested in Okpoko Ogbaru local government area and Onitsha North and South local government areas, the Anambra state government plans to enact a law against illegal revenue collectors.

The law when passed will attract at least two years imprisonment or option of N500,000 for offender.

Combined team of Operation Clean And Healthy Anambra state OCHA Brigade and Anambra Vigilante Group AVG stormed the major flash points of touting and criminality and apprehended some culprits on Tuesday.
The Managing Director of Operation Clean And Healthy Anambra state OCHA Brigade Mr Celestine Anere gave the hint at his office in Awka on Wednesday.

According to him, the essence of the new law is to check mate the activities of touts and ensure that revenue of the state do not get into private pockets.

"We are indeed worried about the activities of these Revenue Thieves who have been ripping off the state and have been harassing and intimidating Innocent members of the public and we as a body,we have put in place measures to check mate them"

"As you can see the enforcements that we have been carrying out is yelling results and this is made manifest in the arrests carried out so far "

"But the Anambra state government has sent a Bill to the State House of Assembly for its passage and when the Bill is passed into law the punishment for offenders would be one or two years imprisonment or option of a fine of N500,000.00 "

"The essence of that Bill is to send the touts out of the streets for a long time and I can assure you that give us one month the number of touts would reduce drastically in Anambra state "he said .

Anere said that the law is not to witch hunt anybody but to bring sanity in the state and increase the Revenue profile of the state.

He advised the youths who are involved in touting to take advantage of the programme of Governor Charles Soludo on One Youth, Two Skills to get themselves gainfully employed and be responsible instead of taking to crimes.

He also noted that the set of staff of the Ocha Brigade they currently have, had been trained to be polite and act responsibility in the discharge of their duties.

According to him, they will continue to undertake periodic training on how to serve the public.

He also expressed his determination wipe touting and other criminals in the state, stating that the raid will be continued

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