Governor Ayade Advocates Anticipatory Policing To Check Crime In Cross River State

… Present more vehicles to Operation Skolombo

Governor Ben Ayade today charged the Cross River State Security Committee code-named “Operation Skolombo”,to work assiduously to move from the level of reactionary to anticipatory policing in the state.

Governor Benedict Ayade of Cross River who gave the charge while handing over operational vehicles to members of the Security Committee headed by Brig. Gen. Mannix Nyiam (Rtd) at the Governor Office premises, Calabar, Tuesday, said that it was proper the security outfit move from its present level to a point where it can fore-see and advance a proactive plan before any crime occurs.

Ayade recounted that hitherto to the coming to power of the present administration, some miscreants have harassed and intimidated innocent public and almost started operating as mini-robbers, adding that based on this reality it became clear from the onset to his government that something drastically needed to be done to checkmate the embarrassing situation, hence the formation of the state security committee code-named operation Skolombo.

“You will recount and recall that there was an incessant case of young little men on the street, harassing and intimidating innocent public. Those miscreants at a point completely took a new dimension where they almost started operating as mini-robbers. So it became a clear case that government needed to respond to it and act in order to check the menace that they were almost becoming an embarrassment to the state”.

He explained that the proper thing for the new administration headed by him was to put in place a security apparatus that will reverse the ugly situation, asserting that “our core target was actually to put a proper check and control over the security situation in the state which gave birth to operation Skolombo…Today we are here in a special event to handover operational vehicles to members of the committee”.

Ayade said that the committee has the onerous task to restore back to calabar the night life, the elegant, the peace and class that is traditional with Calabar and the entire state, as the state cannot afford an agony of a life where it will degenerate to a point where it will now be described as “just the next state”, adding that as the Calabar Carnival is fast approaching, it is the strong hope of government that “this action will demonstrate to the would be tourists that Calabar is a place to be”.

“It is …our hope that you will not only excel in this career of fighting crime but will move it to a completely new level, a level where you do anticipatory policing, where you can fore-see and advance a proactive plan before any crime. It is our strong hope that you will become the final signature of what a security outfit should be like”, Ayade concluded.

In his introductory remarks, the State Security Adviser (SSA), Mr. Jude Ngaji, disclosed that some weeks back the state government constituted a security committee tagged operation Skolombo to checkmate the menace of the criminals in the state, and that the occasion of the day was to present vehicles to the committee.

Responding, the Chairman of the Security Committee, Brig. Gen. Mannix Nyiam thanked the governor, Senator Ben Ayade for the consistent support which he has been giving to the team, and promised that the team will rid the state of criminals, adding that “we will do our best to turn Cross River State around security-wise by November/December when we will be having these activities, the Carnival and the rest”.

High points of the occasion was the presentation of the keys of the vehicles to the Chairman of the Committee, Gen. Mannix and the test driving of one of the vehicles by the Governor, Senator Ben Ayade. my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.