The Anambra State Government has banned its security outfit, Agunaechemba, operatives from wearing masks while on duty.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Community Security, Ken Emeakayi, gave the order on Thursday while addressing Agunaechemba commanders.
Emeakayi, in a statement on Friday, told the commanders that the order was with immediate effect and was meant to prevent the possible use of masks by unscrupulous persons to commit violent crimes.
According to him, “henceforth, Agunaechemba operatives must stop wearing masks. Any operative carrying out his duty with a mask, especially within town in civil cases, is hiding something.
“By operating with masks, security operatives can scare citizens, while criminal elements can also take advantage of it and perpetrate crime, which could be blamed on the agency and its men.
“You have nothing to fear. All of you live in various localities, and people already know you as security men.
“When you sit at joints enjoying your beer, do you mask up? Some of you even take your working tools (guns) to drinking joints. What do you want to prove? Just so that people will hail you?”
He said any operative who disobeyed the order, except those on special assignments, will be arrested and sanctioned.
Addressing the commanders, Emeakayi warned that any personnel who flout the order, except those on special assignments, will be arrested and disciplined.
The state government launched the Agunaechemba, with 2,000 personnel and 200 vehicles, to tackle crime through a community-based approach to strengthen local policing. It was established in 2025 through the Anambra State Homeland Security Law.
The commanders were drawn from the 179 communities across the 21 Local Government Areas of the state during a routine meeting in Awka.
