Some suspected thugs said to be working for
the ‘OCHA Brigade’ also known as ‘Operation
Clean and Healthy Anambra,’ on Wednesday
invaded the Onitsha office of The PUNCH,
carting away a generator and a plasma television
set.
The thugs claimed that they were at the office
to enforce the payment of “business premises
fees.”
They said they were working for the Anambra
State Government.
The Sales and Marketing Representative of The
PUNCH in Onitsha, Mr. Linus Ogbo, who was
present during the incident, said the thugs,
numbering about seven, stormed the office in a
Toyota Hiace bus.
Ogbo said he was pushed aside by the thugs
when he tried to stop them from making away
with the items.
He listed the looted items as one Honda EB
3000S generator and one LG LCD 32 inch
television.
When contacted by our correspondent, a member
of the brigade, Udekwe Ugochukwu, claimed they
were not thugs but “civil servants.”
According to him, the state government
mandated them to assist the ministry of industry
and investment to recover outstanding debts
owed to the state.
Ugochukwu explained that the items would be
returned upon payment of the said business
premises fees, which, he said, was N45,000.
Asked whether the ‘brigade’ has the powers to
loot office items in the course of the said
assignment, Ugochukwu told our correspondent
that they have been taking similar actions in
other offices.