Rivers: Rise In Kidnapping, Robbery, and Amaechi’s Call for State Police

The party said that most of these violent crimes take place in Ogoni axis of the state, which include; Eleme, Tai, Khana and Gokana Local Government Areas.

Despite this disturbing trend, the state government still believes that most of the kidnappings and armed robbery operations were not successful, as security agencies in the state, including the police, the army, the navy, the air-force and the Department of State Security (DSS), aborts no fewer than 50 kidnap operations monthly.

On November 1, 2012, a combined team of security agents killed no fewer than 14 suspected members of a notorious criminal gang specialising in kidnapping, killing and armed robbery in parts of the state.

Apparently acting on a tip-off, the security agents were said to have invaded the hide-out of the hoodlums at Kaani community in Khana Local Government Area of the state in the wee hours of the morning in an attempt to rescue a Turkish national identified as Biram Karakus, believed to have been kidnapped by the gang some weeks back.

However, the ACN seems not satisfied with the successes so far recorded in the area of check-mating violent crimes in the state as it is still tasking the government and security agencies on the need to curb the renewed cases of kidnappings in the state, particularly in the Ogoni area.

In a statement by its publicity secretary in the state, Jery Needam, the party said; “Gory tales of robberies and kidnappings across the state, particularly in Eleme, Tai and Khana Local Government Areas underscore the urgency for the state government, security agencies and the affected local government areas to devise strong measures to tackle rising insecurity.

“The armed robberies and kidnappings, not only exact heavy toll on lives, persons injured and property destroyed, it also discourages investment and worsens the dire unemployment situation.

“There is need to strengthen the skills of security officials for an effective security operation in these violence prone areas and other parts of the state as the yuletide sets in.

“There is also need to question the huge tax payers’ money collected in the name of security votes by the state government and the chairmen of Khana, Tai, Eleme and other local government council chairmen in Rivers State.

“Information available revealed that security votes are shared monthly among political godfathers in their local government areas. Government at all levels should take the renewed cases of kidnappings and armed robberies in Khana, Tai, Eleme and other parts of Rivers State seriously.”

Although the state governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, believes that security agencies in the state were on top of the situation, having been regularly equipped with the necessary arms, ammunition, communication and safety gadgets as well as vehicles by the state government, he still insists that the establishment of state police was the only solution to the rising wave of violent crimes in the state and elsewhere.

Speaking recently at the 2012 Rivers State Security and Technology Innovation Forum in Port Harcourt, Amaechi said the country will be better policed, the people better secured and crime reduced if the constitution allows states to have their own police.

He said; “We are doing our best to secure the citizens of the country who are also resident in the state, ninety-nine per cent of kidnapping and robbery cases in Port Harcourt, across Rivers State, we arrest. Our investment in security is very huge, that is why I am an apostle of state police, because if you give us state police, we will do far better.”

While urging the Federal Government to fund the police and provide them with the necessary facilities to enable them combat crime across the country, the governor said the state government has acquired two helicopters to provide 24 hours uninterrupted security network across the state.

Amaechi is man who is so much passionate about the welfare and most importantly, the security of the people and so, craved the need for a comprehensive security network with a fiscal federal status that will cater for the increasing population of the country, especially his state.

He displayed this recently while speaking at a constitution review forum in Port Harcourt, which was organised by the Rivers State government in conjunction with the National Assembly when he openly expressed support for calls for the establishment of state police.

The governor said; “Rivers State has 5.6 million people. Are 11,000 policemen enough for Rivers State? We didn’t say police should be entirely in the hands of governors. We said create jurisdictions for each to handle.

“Those who support state police say after amending the constitution, make a law on what they can do on, such crimes as robbery, murder, kidnapping etc. Let them not deal with election, right?

“A big country like Nigeria has no forensic lab. Is it not shameful? You have no data of criminals. The argument of those who are in support of state police is that the law should be simple; those states with capacity to establish state police should be allowed to.”

Source: Leadership