Cross River Governor launches operation to tackle insecurity
By Eme Offiong, Calabar
A special task force designed to tackle insecurity as the festive season approaches has been launched in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, south-south Nigeria.
The task force, code named ‘Operation Akpakwu’, draws personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Civil Defence.
AKPAKWU in the Bete dialect of the Obudu people of northern Cross River refers to a spiky-stinging plant commonly known as velvet beans or the devil’s beans or like the Yoruba people of western Nigeria would call it, Werepe.
Governor Ben Ayade, who was accompanied by service chiefs in the state, handed over more than one hundred patrol vehicles fitted with cutting edge communication gadgets, drones and ten BMW power bikes to the task force.
Returning the peace
Ayade condemned the rising spate of kidnappings and crimes across the state and urged the joint task force to return Cross River to the paradise it once was.
“Cross River State statistically remains the safest state in Nigeria. However, as a state we are used to the culture of zero kidnapping, zero cultism and zero robbery,” Ayade stated.
According to the governor, “in recent past, there has been an increase in the number of crimes within the Niger Delta and the country as a whole arising from the difficulty orchestrated by the ENDSARS protest as well as Covid19, which brought general poverty and hardship on the world”.
The governor warned perpetrators of crimes in the state to relocate immediately as Cross River would no longer be a haven for their kind.
He charged the task force: “The instruction is very clear from Abuja, ‘you must deal decisively with any form of criminality, you must deal decisively with any form of banditry, cultism, kidnapping of any form’. Let this, therefore, be a strong message to everyone that as far as you are resident in Cross River State, today is the end of that criminality”.
“This is the end of armed robbery; banditry must end today. We have received very clear instructions from the Nigerian government. I have supported and stand strong with all our military men and the police that they must comply with the obligations – that Cross River State must be made safe,” the governor said.
To further strengthen security, the governor urged every landlord in the state to account for all tenants as part of the regulations, which was signed into law under the Homeland security.
He said that the task force has been mandated to demolish any property occupied or belonging to kidnappers and robbers.
Extend amnesty
Ayade reiterated the need for the Nigerian government to extend the Niger Delta amnesty programme to members of the Bakassi Strike Force since the group voluntarily surrendering their arms.
“We want to ask the federal government to tell us why the Bakassi Strike Force has not been given proper restitution, rehabilitation and reintegration as they have done in other states,” he lamented.
“I plead in the name of God that the Bakassi strike force should be admitted into amnesty so that they can have their due and be properly trained, so they can add value to society”.
Speaking on behalf of the service commanders, the Cross River Police Commissioner, Abdulkadir Jimoh commended Ayade for his proactive steps in crime fighting and pledged the commitment of security agencies to rid the state off criminals.
Confidence Okwuchi
