Anambra state government under the leadership of Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo has said that the state is currently in search of justice over the killing of a young and creative fish farmer, Martins Ifesinachi Onyekesi, well known by his business name as Fish Magnet, who was reportedly shot on the leg while being kidnapped on Sunday 27th July 2025, at his residence in Ezinifite village, Okpuno in Awka, the Anambra state capital, this, Dr. George Moghalu, the Labour Party Candidate in the forthcoming governorship election in the state said that Anambra State is no longer safe, adding that, people are being killed, slaughtered for their families to bury in silence while the state governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo looks the other way, with no sympathy, condolence visit or statement, specifically, Moghalu said; “I must speak frankly, Anambra is no longer safe, Not even in the state capital, Our people are being slaughtered, kidnapped, and buried in silence while the government looks the other way, This is not leadership, It is abandonment, Just recently, we lost over ten lives in a ghastly accident at Amichi, Nnewi South Local government area, yet there was no statement, no condolence, not even a visit from the state government, Instead, we see street renamings and political endorsement rallies, Where is our conscience?”, Moghalu stated while the former lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu, the detained Biafra agitation leader, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor said the people of the state are currently romancing with crimes, hiding criminals, and painting absurd narratives on social media to glorify and justify the rising crimes in the state, saying, “the most frightening part, the reckless energy our own people expend defending these killers, When you shield murderers because they are your kinsmen, you embolden them, When you justify kidnappings under the guise of “ethnic pride,” you leave the gates wide open for the real external aggressors, like armed herdsmen, whose invasion will come when we are weakest and most divided”.
Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor made the government position known on Sunday after he led other government officials on a condolence visit to the bereaved mother of the victim who happened to be the Woman Leader of the Anambra State All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Mrs Esther Onyekesi.
According to Punch Newspaper, “Onyekere, a son of the Woman Leader of the Anambra State All Progressives Grand Alliance, was abducted by gunmen at his residence in Ezinifite community, Okpuno, Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, in a late-night attack on Saturday, July 26, and was subsequently killed.
In a press statement released on Sunday, the state Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, sympathised with the deceased’s family, assuring them that the state government is in search of justice while sustaining and strengthening security in the state.
Mefor, who maintained that such a development is an affront to the Professor Chukwuma Soludo government’s new security architecture, also expressed delight that the police are on the heels of the perpetrators.
The commissioner was quoted as having stated this when he paid a condolence visit to the Woman Leader of the Anambra State APGA, Esther Onyekesi, according to the statement.
The statement read in part, “The Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Dr Law Mefor, recently paid a condolence visit to the Woman Leader of the Anambra State All Progressives Grand Alliance, Mrs Esther Onyekesi, whose only son, Martin Ifesinachi Onyekesi, a prominent fish dealer in the state popularly known as Fish Magnet, was kidnapped and murdered recently in Anambra State.
“Mefor, who described the fish dealer’s death as dastardly and heart-wrenching, sympathised with the deceased’s mother, assuring her that the state government is with her in search of justice while sustaining and strengthening security in Anambra State.
“He maintained that such a death is an affront to the Solution Government’s new security architecture and expressed happiness that the police are on the heels of the perpetrators and have issued a statement on the matter after recovering the vehicle in which they drove him away, adding that nobody can commit such a dastardly act in Anambra State and get away with it.
“So may his soul rest in peace. We’ll fight and get him justice. The mother will get justice, the family will get justice, and Anambra will get justice.
“It’s a very painful loss for all of us, and the government is always challenged when things like this happen because it’s an affront to the new security architecture put in place by the ‘Solution Government’ led by Professor Chukwuma Soludo.”
The commissioner said security in Anambra has significantly improved since Soludo launched a new security architecture on February 18, 2025.
He noted that troubled areas are now receiving proper attention and that anyone causing unrest must now face the government’s security outfits, Agunechemba and Operation Udo Ga-Achi.
“And whoever is constituting a security challenge in Anambra now knows that they have the government’s new security outfits, Agunechemba and Operation Udo Ga-Achi, to contend with, the statement read.
Also on the condolence visit, along with the commissioner was the Chairman of the Nnewi South Local Government Area, Van George Ezeogidi”.
Meanwhile, the Anambra State Police Command of the Nigeria Police Force had said a Joint security operatives recovered the victim’s vehicle which the assailants used to escape the scene.
In a statement, the Police said; “The Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, fwc, MNIPS, PhD, has directed all tactical and intelligence units to redouble their efforts in tracking down the armed men responsible for the abduction and subsequent killing of Mr. Ifesinachi Onyekere, the Managing Director of Fish Magnet Outlet, who was attacked in the evening of 27th July 2025, at his residence in Ezinifite village, Okpuno, Awka.
This directive follows the recovery of the victim’s navy blue Toyota Corolla, along Ukwulu/Igbariam road by the Joint Security Team comprising of Anambra Vigilante Operatives and the Police.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the assailants had trailed the victim before launching the violent attack, during which the deceased was shot in the leg and forcibly taken away. He was later found lifeless, sparking public outrage and deep concern among residents of Awka.
The CP while condemning the killing, assured that the criminal elements behind this cowardly act will be brought to book. He further stated that the Police owe it to the family, the people of Anambra, and the memory of the deceased to ensure that those responsible face the full weight of the Law. Further developments would be communicated accordingly”, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, Police Public Relations Officer, Anambra State Police Command stated in a press release on Wednesday.
Labour Party Governorship candidate, Dr. George Moghalu said; “My heart is heavy.
I received, with deep sorrow, the devastating news of the brutal murder of Mr. Martin Onyekesi, the only son of Mrs. Esther Onyekesi, the Anambra State Woman Leader of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Martin was a promising young man, an industrious fish farmer in his twenties, whose life was cut short in a most cruel and senseless manner. Abducted from his family home in Awka, shot in the leg, and later found dead despite ransom being paid… this is not just a family’s tragedy; it is a painful reminder that our dear state is in crisis.
My thoughts and prayers are with Mrs. Onyekesi and her entire family in this moment of unimaginable grief. No parent should ever have to bury a child, especially under such horrifying circumstances.
I must speak frankly. Anambra is no longer safe. Not even in the state capital. Our people are being slaughtered, kidnapped, and buried in silence while the government looks the other way. This is not leadership. It is abandonment.
Just recently, we lost over ten lives in a ghastly accident at Amichi, Nnewi South Local government area, yet there was no statement, no condolence, not even a visit from the state government. Instead, we see street renamings and political endorsement rallies. Where is our conscience?
This is not about political party. This is about human life. This is about the safety of our people, our mothers, our fathers, our children.
As a father and a fellow Anambrarian, I feel this pain personally. As a leader, I cannot keep quiet. We must return empathy to governance. We must put humanity before politics.
The Anambra of our dreams cannot be built on propaganda, silence, and indifference. It must be founded on compassion, courage, and the resolve to act, especially when it matters most. May the soul of young Martin Onyekesi find rest. And may his death not be in vain”, Dr. George Moghalu, Labour Party Governorship Candidate in Anambra State stated this on Friday, August 1st, 2025.
Former lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor in a statement said; “the brutal abduction and subsequent killing of Ifesinachi Onyekwelu, popularly known as “Fish Magnet” in Awka, Anambra State, is yet another chilling reminder that our homeland is bleeding, and we are running out of time to act.
Just last week, social media was awash with heart-wrenching reports of how this promising young man was kidnapped in his own home at Ezinifite community, Okpuno, Awka South Local government area, during a late-night invasion by gunmen. He was whisked away and later gruesomely murdered, despite an undisclosed ransom being paid. The most devastating part? Ifesinachi was the only son of his family. One life brutally snuffed out, a family shattered beyond repair, and a community thrown into mourning.
I condemn this dastardly act in the strongest possible terms. I call on the Governor of Anambra State, security agencies, and every community stakeholder to rise to the occasion; not merely to issue statements, but to act decisively: hunt down these murderers, bring them to justice, and urgently strengthen the security architecture to forestall further bloodshed.
But let us not deceive ourselves, this is more than an isolated tragedy. It is a symptom of a larger, deadlier disease that is eating deep into the soul of Ala Igbo. A disturbing trend where crime is romanticized, killers are shielded, and absurd conspiracy theories are peddled on social media to justify barbarity.
Some people, hiding behind faceless accounts, shamelessly defend these murderers. Others spin reckless narratives, like the laughable claim that the gunmen who killed over 20 innocent souls in Arondizuogu were “Fulani herdsmen” who mastered Igbo language.” What a tragic delusion! Must death knock at your door before you accept reality?
And then there is the digital complicity, the growing chorus of voices online excusing or minimizing the bloodbath ravaging Imo State and other parts of the Southeast. Many victims remain silent, paralyzed by fear, while some communities, particularly in the Okigwe axis, have literally been conquered by criminal gangs who now dictate life and death within their domains.
The most frightening part? The reckless energy our own people expend defending these killers. When you shield murderers because they are your kinsmen, you embolden them. When you justify kidnappings under the guise of “ethnic pride,” you leave the gates wide open for the real external aggressors, like armed herdsmen, whose invasion will come when we are weakest and most divided.
Let this be crystal clear: crime is crime, no matter who commits it. A criminal is not a hero. Anyone involved in these heinous acts must be decisively dealt with, without ethnic excuses, without sympathy, and without protection under any guise.
To my dismay, only yesterday, I saw a report purportedly authored by alleged Umuaka community, trying desperately to downplay the scale of kidnappings and killings in their area. I ask: what message are we sending to a people who now live under siege, a community where fear is the new normal?
The hard truth is this: security is not the responsibility of government alone. It is a collective duty. Sadly, the conventional security architecture appears to have abandoned hapless citizens of Imo State to their fate, either by willful act of dereliction of duty, compromise, or collusion. But we, as a people, cannot, and must not, abandon ourselves.
This is a wake-up call. If we do not unite against this evil now, it will consume us all. Tomorrow, it could be your brother. Your sister. Your only son. The time to act is NoW”, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, Esquire stated this on Saturday August 2, 2025.