Governor Chukwuma Soludo has declared that security has significantly improved in Anambra State, announcing that the years-long Monday sit-at-home order is now a thing of the past as he was sworn in for a second term on Tuesday .
The governor spoke at his inauguration ceremony held at Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka, attended by eminent Nigerians including former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, as well as Vice President Kashim Shettima .
“The debilitating one-sit-at-home is over, and our schools, markets, businesses, and public servants are back to work. Reports say that ours is now the safest, or at least one of the safest states in Nigeria,” Soludo, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, told the gathering .
He pointed to the attendance at his inauguration as proof of improved security. “I’m sure many of you flew into Anambra yesterday, being Monday. Previously, it was not possible,” he noted .
The sit-at-home order, which saw millions of South-East residents remain indoors and shut their businesses on Mondays, began as a protest against the arrest and detention of pro-Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu by the Federal Government .
Soludo referenced several milestones as evidence of improving security, including the destruction of criminal camps and the mass return of Anambra indigenes during the Christmas season .
“Some 62 criminal camps have been dismantled, and 8 local governments previously under total siege have been liberated,” the governor said .
“Anambra had its best Christmas season in decades last December with a mass return and over 10,000 visitors per day to the Solution City every day until the 10th of January,” he added .
The governor attributed the reduction in criminality partly to the Homeland Security Law 2025, which has been enforced across the state .
Soludo expressed concern about a troubling trend among the youth. He said Anambra was “being overrun by a new and fastest-growing religion and philosophy amongst our youth that promised and celebrated wealth without work,” noting that this development had “implications for criminality” .
However, he declared that with the enforcement of the Homeland Security Law, the state has made significant progress against illegal native doctors .
“Hundreds of these dangerous native doctors are on the run. The poster boy of the new phenomenon, Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki, has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to a jail term. His massive shrine has been destroyed as well,” Soludo announced .
The governor outlined his vision for a “crusade for ethical and cultural rebirth,” aiming to restore the values that historically made the Igbo people great .
“We are on a very serious crusade for ethical and cultural rebirth, going back to the roots of what made us great and unstoppable—values of enterprise and integrity, Akuluouno,” he said .
“That way, we can rescue our youth and secure the future away from drugs, cultism, magic, and criminality,” Soludo added .
The ceremony marked the official beginning of Soludo’s second term as governor of Anambra State, with the incumbent running mate, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim, also sworn in for a second term . The governor won the November 8, 2025 governorship election, polling 210,345 votes to defeat his closest rivals .
