A retired US Army personnel, Mr Bonaventure Ezekwenna has raised alarm over the activities of a criminal gang in his community, Nnobi, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Ezekwenna, a citizen of the United States and Nigeria said he recently escaped attempts by the gang to kidnap him in his hometown but expressed shock that despite identifying those behind the attempt, both the police and officials of the state ministry of information have been shielding the suspects.

The victim in a six page petition he submitted to the Governor of Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, alleged that both the police and ministry officials have been extorting money from him, despite his efforts to use his expertise to help solve insecurity in the state.

He attached several documents as his evidence, adding that his life is currently at risk as the criminals have been threatening him and bragging that they have police and other law enforcement agents in their pocket.

Speaking during a press conference, Ezekwenna said: “We have submitted a petition to the Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, against the Attorney General of Anambra State, Prof Sylvia Ifemeje for the cover up of very corrupt prosecutors in the state ministry of justice, who extorted money from me to prosecute my case of attempted kidnap.

“I’m calling on the governor for help, I’m also doing this as my own contribution to the growth and safety of the state. I’m a dual citizen of the US and Nigeria, a veteran US soldier of New York City government child abuse investigation agency. I’m also a freelance independent intelligence gathering operative.

“I’m retired, and I came home in Nnobi, Anambra State to contribute my quota both in development and job creation. I heeded the call of the state government to come home and invest, and I need the protection of the governor.

“There is a syndicate of what you people in Nigeria call yahoo plus, kidnap and assassination gang in Anambra State. The same gang is also responsible for the burning down of police stations in the state.

“I didn’t need to look too deep to find this out, I only deployed my investigative and intelligence gathering skills, which I developed from my training at New York City Human Resources Administration for Child Services, United States Army Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, to find this out.

“I reported the incident (kidnap attempt and findings) to the police, and after investigation, the police produced a report and charged the gangsters to court.”

He said that what was shocking was that he found out that some police operatives were even working in collaboration with the criminals, and worse still was that prosecutors at the ministry of justice have been extorting money from him. He called on the governor to intervene and also caution the attorney general, who he accused of shielding the corrupt officers.

He presented evidence of money allegedly extorted from him by officials of the ministry while prosecuting the matter.

Though attempt to reach the state police command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga for reaction on the allegation failed, the Attorney General of Anambra State, Prof Sylvia Ifemeje told journalists she would not react to the matter, saying that Ezekwenna had complained to him about one of her prosecutors, and she assigned a new prosecutor to him and he has continued to complain still.

She also accused Ezekwenna of corrupting prosecutors in her ministry by always giving them money.

Retired US soldier petitions Gov Soludo over attempted attacks on his life in Anambra