Governors of the six states in the Niger Delta region under the aegis of Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta states (BRACED) have unveiled a proposal for the establishment of a special regional force to tackle the menace of kidnapping in the zone.
The force, according to the plan, would be made up of a structure set up by the governors and the leadership of the Nigeria Police with huge budget for the procurement of helicopters, gun boats, patrol vans and coordinating digital coverage of the entire region.
Special Adviser to the Bayelsa State Governor on Security, Col. Bernard Kenebai (rtd), who disclosed this yesterday in Yenagoa, said though the proposed outfit was being put together by the special security advisers in the six states, the outfit would coordinate the existing security network in the region.
Kenebai linked the recent upsurge in cases of kidnapping in Bayelsa to the movement of kidnappers from neighbouring Delta and Rivers states to the state. “We have started a planned synergy with neighbouring states like Delta and Rivers, which are used as bases for abduction in Bayelsa. We have also discovered that the issue is a common problem and will therefore establish a regional anti-kidnapping force.”
He told newsmen yesterday that the security outfit, code named, Operation Doo-Akpor, operating in the state had in the last one year arrested over 600 suspects for criminal related offences and handed them over to the appropriate security agencies for interrogation and prosecution.
To enhance the safety of life and property on the waterways, the state government, he said had taken delivery of 13 armoured patrol boats.