3 Security operatives collapse at Soludo’s second-term inauguration in Awka

The pomp and fanfare of Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s second-term inauguration in Anambra State was briefly overshadowed on Tuesday when three security operatives from different agencies collapsed during the ceremony, in what witnesses attributed to prolonged standing, heat, and physical exhaustion.

The three operatives — a male police officer, a male operative of the Directorate of State Services, and a female operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps — all collapsed during the parade at the Dr Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka, the venue of the inauguration.

The police operative collapsed first, followed by the DSS operative, before the female NSCDC officer slumped toward the end of the event. She was later escorted to an ambulance after she reportedly refused to be moved in a stretcher. A source said the police operative was later resuscitated but remained unstable and was taken to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital in Amaku, Awka.

The incidents unfolded against the backdrop of one of Anambra’s most high-profile political events in years. Governor Soludo was sworn in alongside his deputy, Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim, at the newly renovated Alex Ekwueme Square, with Vice President Kashim Shettima, former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, former Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, and several other governors in attendance.

The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Soludo the winner of the November 8, 2025 Anambra governorship election after he polled 422,664 votes, defeating his closest rival, the All Progressives Congress candidate Nicholas Ukachukwu, who scored 99,445 votes.

Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services, Nigerian Army, NSCDC, the Federal Road Safety Corps, and local vigilante groups had been deployed at strategic points across the state for the event — a massive security mobilisation that placed hundreds of personnel on their feet for extended hours under the open sun.

The collapses have renewed questions about the welfare of security personnel deployed to large public ceremonies, particularly regarding adequate rest, hydration, and rotation arrangements for operatives stationed on their feet for long hours in demanding conditions. No official statement on the condition of the three operatives had been issued by the relevant security agencies at the time of filing this report.