Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River state has restated his resolve to ensure the security of lives and properties of his people and has therefore donated 100 patrol vehicles and ten power bikes to security agencies in the state to fight all cases of insecurity.
Ayade, who spoke in Calabar, Thursday, while making the donation, said with the present precarious insecurity situation, especially in Calabar, the state capital, he had chosen to prioritise security above payment of salaries and pension.
He charged security agencies in the state to go after criminals and kidnappers in what he code-named ‘Operation Akpakwu.’
Ayade, who was physically incensed by the rate of kidnapping in the state in recent time said, “I have decided to allow security come first before salaries and pensions because I will no longer tolerate a situation where criminals and kidnappers take over the state under my watch.
“Going forward, any kidnapper in the state will have his house demolished and if he rents the house, then the landlord will have a case to answer.
” Let me also add that any person with a gun in his possession will pay heavy price for it. Today is the end of kidnapping in the state and I expect the cordon and search programme to be enhanced because we cannot afford to allow criminals overrun the state.”
According to him, his administration has spent so much in buying both patrol vehicles and drones, all in an effort to control the security situation in the state, and therefore warned that he would not tolerate any security lapses “going forward.”
He also called on the federal government to absorb the disbanded ‘Bakassi Strike Force’ into the amnesty programme, noting that since the Bakassi militia “laid down their arms three years ago, the federal government has not done anything to give them a means of livelihood.”
He believed that insecurity in Cross River could be the thing of the past if all hands are on deck to fight the menace holistically.
