Anambra Govt dismisses viral video of fire outbreak; declares it fake, politically motivated

The Anambra State government has dismissed a trending video of fire incident in some part of the state.

The government reaction was contained in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C. Don Adinuba on Thursday.

News Express reports that a viral video had claimed of a fire incident in an undisclosed part of the state.

But reacting to the report, the state government dismissed the report, describing such as fake news.

Giving further clarification, the government said the purported report lack credibility because it failed to state the village, town or city where the so-called incident occurred.

Condemning the report, the government also said it carried no date, hence asked the general public to disregard it describing the video as handiwork of subservice elements.

The statement reads partly: “The attention of the Anambra State Government has been called to a trending video of a purported fire engulfing a block of flats in the state. The video does not state the village or town or city or local government area where the so-called fire occurred, let alone the address of the building. Nor does it state the day or month or year, let alone the time of the day. The narrator keeps on screaming on top of his voice, ‘fire in Anambra State’, accusing the authorities of doing nothing to extinguish it. Of course, the so-called inferno was stage managed.

“Even though the video is absolutely lacking in credibility, the intelligence and security agencies decided to follow intelligence reports on the persons behind the video and their motive. It has now been confirmed that the video is the handiwork of a few subservice elements in our dear state. It has also been established that the video is politically motivated.

“The video is part of the grand design by the subversive elements to create the impression, as the November 6 gubernatorial election fast approaches, that Anambra State is no longer secure or safe. The same subversive elements were behind a report which went viral on social media a little over a month ago claiming that security has so much collapsed in the state that the citizens are slaughtered in large numbers daily and the flesh served in restaurants and drinking joints as suya, or barbequed meat, and  as fresh meat pepper soup. It beats the imagination how an infinitesimal number who want to acquire political power by all means can gratuitously portray the same people they want to rule as cannibals in the 21st century.”

The Anambra State Government reassured residents of the state of good security adding that the safety of lives and assets of its people remain paramount to the Governor Willie Obiano administration.