Agunechemba: Girls without bra, pants on the run *As youths with dreadlocks, coloured low cuts rush to hair salons

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By Madu Obi

Following the introduction of Agunechemba, a new security outfit in Anambra State, and with town criers in some communities warning that people stood the risk of arrest because Governor Chukwuma Soludo has banned girls without bra and pants from the streets, such sights have suddenly disappeared in the state.

Also, youths with dreadlocks, coloured low cuts and sagging trousers have been rushing to hair salons to have proper haircut and sagging trousers are no longer fashionable.

In fact, the fear of Agunechemba is the beginning of wisdom in Anambra as people now appear to be dropping the extreme fashion appearances that have been linked with kidnapping for ransom and Yahoo activities.

In a popular hair salon along Ifite road in Awka, many youths, both male and female, were seen queueing to either remove their dreadlocks, or the colours on their hair

The rush has suddenly jerked up the cost of haircut in the city from an average of N2000 to N5000.

Similarly, the common sight of girls parading the streets in transparent dresses without bra and pants, particularly at the popular Aroma and Abakaliki street areas of Awka, have completely disappeared.

Although the state government has since denied that it gave the directive, operatives of Agunechemba in some parts of the state were said to be harassing those who move about without bra and pants, as well as boys who wear dreadlocks, and girls who move about with coloured low cuts.

While some of the youths wondered why physical appearances and hairstyles should be the concern of the government in the face of mounting insecurity across the state, they said they decided to obey the order following pressures from their relatives.

However, the allegation that it was the state government that gave the directive has attracted the attention of the state government, which described it as a misrepresentation of the provisions of the new Anambra State Homeland Security Law 2025 and its express demands on the citizens and residents of the state by town criers and some others.

The state Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor said: "In one instance, a town crier told the people that henceforth, those wearing dreadlocks or sagging their trousers would be arrested. In another example, perhaps the most absurd, a town crier told the people that women not wearing pants and bras would now be arrested.

These misleading statements made by these town criers are neither part of the new law nor are they a directive from the state government.

This kind of false information and misrepresentation of the new law needs to end because it has the potential to cause crisis and confusion. For the avoidance of doubt, the new law has nothing to do with the dress code."

According to Mefor, "the government would consider such misinformation to be intentional and fabricated to incite the public against the new law, which aims to purge the state of criminality and evil native doctors, sorcerers, and idolaters who prepare 'Oke-Ite' and similar potions and charms, as well as native doctors who prepare Odeshi, which gives the criminals the courage with which they commit robberies, kidnapping, and other violent crimes."

He warned that going forward, town criers must consult their communities’ Presidents-General before broadcasting any messages, adding that the Presidents-General will, in turn, be held accountable if the broadcasting of the messages misrepresents the new law or the purpose of Agunechemba and Operation Udo Ga-Achi.

"When in doubt, the President-General should consult the government, especially the Office of the Special Adviser to the Governor (SPAD) on Community Security.

The Presidents-General and town criers of the Anambra communities should treat this public notice with the seriousness it merits to prevent the confusion that is currently being caused by false information propagated by some town criers", the Commissioner warned.

Press Secretary to Governor Soludo, Mr. Christian Aburime, in another statement, advised the peddlers of such news to desist from it to avoid creating unnecessary panic and tension in the state.

We wish to categorically state that this information is not only false but also mischievous and calculated to mislead the public and paint the state government in bad light”.

The state government therefore urged the public to disregard this fake news and always verify information from official government channels before sharing,” he said.

He assured that the administration of Governor Soludo will continue to focus on key issues of security of lives and property, human capital development, economic transformation, and urban regeneration for the benefit of Anambra citizens, rather pedestrian issues.