… Rescued 50 Persons, Recovered 133 Firearms
No fewer than Five Hundred and Twenty-One (521) assorted cases including murder were recorded by the Cross-River state police command in year 2023.
The commissioner of police (CP), Cross River state police command, Mr. Augustine Grimah, disclosed these to newsmen during a press briefing and parading of suspects at the command’s headquarters, on Thursday in Calabar.
According to him, the command under his watch in the outgone year, despite all odds, recorded quite a number of achievements.
While attributing the feats to the practical law enforcement drills plunged into with constant raids of identified criminal hideouts, creeks, blacks spots, and flash points through visibility policing, intelligence led-policing; he, however, said it was not without some sacrifices as the command lost five (5) of her personnel on the line of duty.
The commissioner saluted the gallant performances of officers and men of the command as evident in the reduction of crime rate in the outgone year, adding that it was in keeping with the vision of the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, to stem the tide of crime and make Nigeria safer and more secured for economic development.
“Gentlemen of the press, you can bear me witness as we always invite you to this Headquarters for press briefings where suspects are paraded before you and the general public to inform you of the efforts we are making to ensure that the state maintains its records as the most peaceful in the Country.
“In keeping with the vision of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun PHD, NPM to stem the tide of crime and make Nigeria safer and more secured for economic development and growth, the command under my watch is taking drastic measures in fighting crimes and the perpetrators.
“Therefore, all our efforts and energies shall be geared towards the prevention of crimes and the successful apprehension of offenders that would test our resolve.
“Consequently, the command has overhauled its crime prevention machineries with Community Policing as the pillars of this strategy.
“We have already set the ball rolling and took proactive measures to stamp out the rising crimes in the State through round the clock patrol, constant raids on identified criminal hideouts and black-spots, surveillance foot and vehicular patrols, regular stop and search, intelligence gathering, and above all stakeholders engagements to address crimes in their localities.
“The Command within the period under review, 1st Januray-31st December, 2023 recorded a total of Five Hundred and Twenty-One (521) incidents.
“No. of policemen/women killed 1st Jan.-31st Dec. 2023, 5; No. of persons recued 1st Jan.-31st Dec. 2023, 58; No. of recovered firearms 1st Jan.-31st Dec. 2023, 133”, a press statement issued by the commissioner disclosed in part.
Meanwhile, the police boss has solicited the continuous support of well-meaning Nigerians and residents of Cross River state towards checkmating crime in their respective localities.
He argued that the tasks of policing is a collective responsibility, therefore, appealed to all public-spirited individuals to contact the command through the following dedicated help line for prompt and timely response at all times: 08133569456.
National-Compass reports that a breakdown of the Five Hundred and Twenty-One incidents recorded in the period under review indicated that they were 6 kidnappings, 49 abductions, 52-armed robbery, 35, cultism cases among others.
