The Cross River Police Command on Thursday said it had arrested 28 suspected criminals who were allegedly perpetrating armed robbery, kidnapping, unlawful possession of firearms and others in the state.
The state Commissioner of Police, CP Austin Agbonlahor, said this in Calabar at a news briefing on the paraded suspects.
He said the police in the state planned to rid the state of criminals in line with the vision of the Nigeria Police Force nationally.
Agbonlahor said the command had its strategies which were yielding immense results in the attempt to rid the state of criminal elements.
According to the commissioner, part of the strategy was constituting police patrol teams to man strategic locations in the state and circulating emergency telephone numbers that could be contacted by the public during any incident.
He said the command was not wasting time in prosecuting criminal cases after the conclusion of investigation as it was only the courts that had the powers to prescribe punishments for criminals
On the election, the commissioner said the command had put everything necessary in place to ensure that the elections were peaceful.
“I call on everyone that has a Permanent Voter Card (PVC) to go to his/her polling unit and discharge his/her civic responsibility, we have provided adequate security, if you do not have a PVC, stay away from the polling units.
“We would have security at strategic locations to enforce the “No movement” order from 6.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23.
Earlier, the commissioner had addressed a group of youth leaders who came to partner with the police in ensuring peaceful general elections in Cross River.
He urged the youths to go back home with the message that the police was ready to ensure peaceful elections and would look into their demands for effective policing during the elections.
(NAN)
Speaking while taking delivery of additional new containers of equipment at the state’s industrial city, yesterday, in Calabar, Governor Ayade said his policy was predicated on his desire to create jobs and wealth amongst the citizenry, especially the teeming unemployed.
The governor is currently building over twelve industries strategically located in the state with some already running and others at various stages of completion.
According to him,
“Cross River State is poised to lead Nigeria’s industrial revolution initiative with a particular focus on agro-based industries.
“We have just taken delivery of four containers load of equipment for our frozen chicken processing factory, Cala-Chicka. We have 40 more containers we are expecting for the entire poultry value chain in the state on the way.”
Continuing he explained that
“by implication, we also have the equipment for the automated chicken slaughterhouse and processing and packaging of frozen chicken. We also have three different equipment for three direction factories located in three different local government areas all intended to drive the frozen chicken export business.
According to the governor,
“This again is a kinetic crystallization of some of those industrialization projects that we have talked about and I believe that Cross Riverians are beginning to recognize and realize that indeed, we have taken the right decision to industrialize the state to create jobs and wealth among our people.”
Justifying the establishment of the frozen chicken in the state, Ayade hinted:
“We are taking advantage of protein deficiency in Africa and to venture into a frozen chicken. In the fullness of time, the world will see that Cross River State is in the right direction and our dream is manifesting and they will begin to appreciate our effort as our wealth creation and economy diversification drive is beginning to yield a positive result.”
Offering further insight into why the state is venturing into agricultural value chain the state, the governor maintained that
“As you can see, most of our projects are agro-based. For instance, as we process frozen chicken, we have to feed them. How do we feed them? We need soya beans; we really need also yellow maize. So, who will supply me the yellow maize? So, definitely, we now need to engage major industrial farmers for soya beans farming and yellow maize cultivation. How do they get funding?
That is why we set up Cross River Micro-finance Bank.”
“So, if you don’t know the story, you think that Ayade is carrying too much but there are all intended to just fit together and create an organic whole. It’s gradually crystallizing and that was why I had christened our budget,
“Kinetic Crystallisation.” And I can tell you that crystallization in rapid succession, all the things will start falling in place and people can begin to see for themselves.”
On the choice of Obubra for the yellow maize, he explained:
“Obubra has a very suitable soil for yellow maize cultivation. It has a massive landmass and it has a huge population. It is going to create at least 25,000 jobs growing just yellow maize alone. Soya bean will be cultivated in Yala. Again that will create another 25,000 jobs, with every young person having four to five hectares of yellow maize. That is why we signed a partnership with TATA to supply us all the equipment needed for our mechanise farming.”
On efforts to improve yield among farmers in addition to farm inputs the state is already providing, the governor stated that
“Cross River State is going to take out the agricultural infrastructure, take the burden off the farmers by providing access to the farm, clearing, doing the tilling, ploughing and making the farmer nurture its plants.
“Even at the point of harvest, the state government will be there to support the farmers. So, Cross River is preparing to make green millionaires and that is why I made a commitment that I was going to make a young green millionaire.”
This is a programme that if the people understand the focus and the drive, they will see that truly, we are going towards a tangent and that tangent will crystallize very soon. By the time we start exporting frozen chicken out of Cross River State, that alone will create all the jobs that we need from the entire value chain.”
Former Cross River state governor and presidential aspirant under the platform of Social Democratic Party, Mr. Donald Duke said he dumped the People’s Democratic Party PDP for the Social Democratic Party SDP because the foundation of the PDP was torn apart.
“I know you will ask this question, why did you leave a party like PDP which has structures nationwide and go to smaller party?
“My answer is simple, I am a builder. I prefer to take a house on a solid foundation and build on it and not the one that has an earthquake with a foundation that is torn apart.
“And you say I should stay there and patch it and put a roof over my head. You know that the umbrella is leaking.”
Duke, who claimed to be a builder promised to traverse the length and breadth of the country to convince Nigerians to key into the ideologies of the SDP.
The presidential aspirant urged party faithfuls to embark on a systematic approach in the quest to convince Nigerians to vote in candidates of the SDP to govern the country in 2019.
Duke charged his supporters to embark on the aggressive recruitment of new members into the party via several social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so as to increase the number of Nigerians who can vote candidates of the SDP into power next year.
Against the backdrop of civil strife occasioned by small portion of land, which results in communal clashes in 13 communities in Cross River State, leading to 13,000 being displaced, 617 houses burnt with 27 deaths recorded. Richard Ndoma writes.
If there is anything on earth that impedes the progress of men and retards the development of mankind, it is war! This may come in form of external and internal aggression from a particular country and its neighbour. A country is said to be at war when lawlessness moves to its peak with people resorting to the killing of one another, looting and destroying property without having any second thought that actions of such nature are evil.
Whenever a country decides to engage itself or her neighbours in a war, there is tendency for development in such an environment to retard and make people who cohabits the country to become poor, thus forcing the socio-economic situation of those engaged in the war to move anti-clock wise given the fact that every economic activity in the place may be at a standstill.
Cross River State is one of the states in Nigeria that is known for its peace and serenity, right from time immemorial. This is why in the past, it was difficult for any individual to come by any media report in the print or electronic media that portrays the state as a violent entity. Tales associated with civil disturbances, assassination, kidnapping and heinous crimes of all sorts were hardly heard in the state, tales of such nature were never associated with the state. Perhaps that accounted for the reason the founding fathers of the state, in their effort to proffer meaning to Calabar, the state capital, described it as, ”Come and Live and Be At Rest (Calabar)”.
However, the reverse has become the case in recent times. The state , which was well known for its glory, is beginning to lose its glory to violence. The peace and serenity, which the state was well known for, is almost gone. For some time now, Cross River State has become a fountain for communal crises/civil disturbance.
The level of destruction has assumed an alarming rate. At the last count beginning from January this year, 2018, the state has recorded 27 deaths even though critics of the government have a different figure, 617 houses burnt to ashes with about 13,000 individuals who hitherto reside in the state being displaced, a development, which tends to increase the number of Internally Displace Person (IDPs). Cross River State Director General, State Emergency Management Agency, Mr John Inaku, stated that about 13 communities across the three senatorial districts of the state, have been ravaged by war, which occurs due to small parcel of land.
According to Inaku, who reeled out the information to our reporter, he lamented that the state government has spent about 70 million naira trying to provide succour to victims of the civil unrest, adding that items like food, medicine and clothing and make shift shelter have been provided by the state government through the state deputy governor and called on the National Boundary Commission to, without delay, wade into the matter to forestall recurrent of the civil unrest.
Inaku blamed the National Boundary Commission for failing in the area of providing beacon stones to demarcate the boundaries. He said that unless something is urgently done to salvage the situation, war will perpetually remain with Nigeria.
He said that state government has, through the army authority, dispatched troops to go and restore peace in another war, which suddenly broke out in the state between Vandeikya people of Benue State and the Obudu people of Cross River.
The SEMA DG, called on leaders of thought from all warring communities to appeal to their kinsmen not to quickly take to arms whenever disagreements ensue over small parcel of lands but learn to settle maters on round table discussion.
Those watching events in the society say that the government of the day has lost control otherwise why would there be war everywhere on daily basis without the government being able to extinguish the war?
It is common these days when flipping through the pages of newspaper to read about communal clashes which have eluded the peace of the state being chronicled down on the pages of papers concerning communities which had co-existed in the past as friends but are now at loggerheads with each other.
A top member of the All Progressives Congress in the state, Sir Joe Ekeng, chastised Prof Ben Ayade-led Government of being inept and weak to put an end to communal clashes, which according to him, have skyrocketed since Ayade’s administration came on board.The DG of SEMA said he discovered that the Izzi people of Ebonyi attacked Ukelle community three times in the 10 days he spent in the senatorial district to take stock of the extent of the damage and accused the Izzi people of putting up a violent behaviour even when the Cross River State government is working round the clock to reduce agony of the victims.
Among the losses counted by him, incurred by the victims of war in Cross River State, were buildings, farmlands, cattle and economic trees valued also at millions of naira which were brought down as a result of the civil disturbances, forcing several aged people, including women and children to be displaced compelling them to quit their place of origin to take refuge in neighbouring villages.
In Cross River State, causes of communal clashes are attributed to disputes which emanate as a result of disagreements which break out over small portions of land which cannot even be valued at a huge amount but at cheap prices. There are reported cases of matters, which have led communities into war, matters that ordinarily would have been swept under the carpet or at most, shunned by communities involved in the crises.
An example, is the case of Akparabong community in Ikom Local Government of Cross River State and her neighbouring village, Bendeghe Ekiem, which fought each other over a very small parcel of land purported to be used by a councilor from Bendeghe community for construction of a minibus top for residents of both communities to take refuge under. It was a pathetic case.
Youths from both communities resorted and accused the councillor of usurping their parcel of land, which, if valued in terms of naira and kobo, would not be close to N100,000. A crisis that forced many to their untimely graves, with many injured and several storey buildings burnt down to ashes with several cocoa stores worth millions of cash being looted during the unrest.
Recently, Esuk Mba, a community which is about 10 kilometres from Calabar, the capital city of the state, in Akpabuyo Local Government Area, had its own share of the trouble.
One of the youth leaders, Etete Offiong Bassey, was almost beaten to death by some aggrieved youth over a disagreement, which broke over levies receipt for market stalls and also for daring to oppose the candidate of their choice to occupy a chieftaincy stool in the area. The matter has caused residents of the village to desert the community for their dear lives.
As small as a parcel of land can be, locals hardly tolerate their neighbours, they quickly resort to arms, and slay people from neighbouring communities just for a mere piece of land that might not reach up to one hectare or N100, 000.00. These are simple disagreements, which could have been resolved in a round table discussion without resorting to violence.
A cursory look into the immediate and remote causes of communal clashes, which had negatively impacted on the economy of Cross River State, bringing the economy to its knees as a result of skirmishes between neighbouring communities in recent times, is attributed to cult clashes among different cult groups who flex muscles to prove their supremacy among their rival groups. On several occasions, cultists have dragged their communities to war over little scores, which could have been amicably resolved on a round table discussion just because they want to exhibit their ego.
The number of breaks of violence has wrecked pain and sour taste in the mouths of many, particularly the warring communities of Ukelle and their Izzi counterpart as each side is counting human and material loses. In what seems to look like contradiction on the number of death against the figures given by the SEMA DG, those who spoke contrary to his opinion, claimed that about 30 are said to have lost their lives in the said skirmishes with 1,500 houses razed and 8,000 aged women and children displaced, leaving the communities in tattered condition as a result of losing their yam bans, cassava farms, plantain orchards, poultry farms, and fish ponds destroyed leaving the atmosphere with no peace to breath.
Other communities who had joined the bandwagon for war in the state include Nkim and Nkum said to be brothers with the same ancestral spirit in Ikom Local Government in the central senatorial district of the state had also suffered. In 2016, about10 communities in the area fought one another just for mere piece of land.
In Yala, Oyoba village in Wanikande and Ehetzi of Wanihen communities of Ukele fought each other until soldiers came and rescued them. In Obubra, inyima and their neighboring village of Onyedama, Owakande the villages fought and left several injured.
In Ogoja, Ukpe and Mgbegede, Yakkur Nko and Mkpani villages of chief of Naval staff, Ita Ibok Ibas and the community of the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani and former governor, Clement Ebri of Cross River State, also took to each other’s throats for mere parcel of land leaving many scores with various degrees of injuries.
In Obudu where the governor of the state, Prof Ben Ayade hails from, Kutia and Okurtong were not left out in the fighting spree as theirs was in 2012.
In retrospect, the communities involved in these skirmishes have always had longstanding relationship in terms of co-habiting on the same land peacefully until disagreement broke out when claims and counterclaims of mistrust, land grabbing and oppressive tendencies crept in, leaving many dead with houses erected with hard earned currency razed down to ashes; scores of livestock, economic trees and farmlands being smashed down.
The war had brought a big burden to the federal government as it is forced to overstretch the security agents and government has to spend extra money to mobilise soldiers and anti-riot policemen to places of disturbances. Perhaps this accounts for the reason several policemen have been stationed in the troubled areas like the Abakaliki- Ogoja Trans Sahara Highway.
Unfortunately, security agents in that axis seem to have turned the place to an extortion point as the obstacles mounted at several points on the road are being turned to collection points for illegal receipts of taxes from motorists who ply that route with the security agents doing the contrary to the reason for which they were assigned to the checkpoints without stopping youths in the area from engaging in squabbles and acts inimical to the peace of the area.
Mr John Odama an indigene of Ukelle, who claimed to be one of the warriors, said he migrated to Calabar, the state capital, as a result of the skirmishes to live with his elder brother. According to him, on a visit to the village, one could hardly see any building that was still complete and good for habitation, stressing that almost every one had fled the village because of the level of destruction, saying no human local had remained in the village except the soldiers who are seen at strategic checkpoints.
Those watching affairs in the state claimed that the number of wars, which has eluded the peace in the state, could have been averted if certain rules of agreements reached by community founding fathers were kept.
Just as in the war which broke out between Ukelle in Cross River State and Izzi in Ebonyi State about two weeks ago, if both communities had kept the content of agreement reached by previous administrations of Dr Sam Egwu of Ebonyi State and that of Donald Duke of Cross River State, as a result of the peace which was brokered by the then two governors, the war would have been averted.
On why the war in Ukelle and Izzi broke out, the warrior maintained that Izzi youths were to be blamed for the crises that happened two weeks ago stressing that in March 2017, yams which were sprouting in the farm of one of their community chiefs by name Chief Stephen Odom, was butchered by Izzi youths and they didn’t react, adding that Ukelle community reported the matter to the police who were in the area.
Unfortunately, nothing was done to pacify the owner of the farm. Again, the warrior added that in January this year 2018, more farmlands belonging to his kinsmen were destroyed in Okpodon Ntrigom along with the house of one Mr James Obo and another building belonging to Malachy Odom was also destroyed by violent Izzi youths whose stock in trade was to ferment trouble.
He said that the neighbours of Izzi had brought them pain and anguish to the extent that they didn’t know what to do but to defend themselves.
However, apart from the former governor of Cross River State, Sen Liyel Imoke, the current senator representing Cross River Central at the National Assembly, former FCT police boss, Mr Lawrence Alobi, and Gen Moses Obi Rtd, Sen Victor Ndoma-Egba, who were said to have made several efforts to resolve the skirmishes by calling several warring factions to see reasons why taking up arms should not be seen as a necessity in settling disagreements, the state government, under the watch of the state deputy governor, who is now the acting governor, Prof Ivara Esu, made a visit to the Ukelle community where food items and medical attention were given to the displaced people through the state Primary Health Care Development Agency under the auspices of Dr Betta Edu.
The acting governor told the people that war was not a better way to resolve conflict, adding that matters are better resolved on a round table discussion instead of resorting to violence, which dragged the entire community to untold hardship or instant death.
But the Police Public Relations officer, (PPRO) Irene Ugbo, in her reaction to allegations by some members of the public that the police was not doing enough in the business of protecting lives and property , debunked the allegations and said that the police had always worked round the clock to ensure peace and stability reign in the land, adding that a detachment of Mobil policemen have been dispatched to tackle the situation in the war torn area and called on the state government to collaborate with authority of the police command so that sanity can be restored in the war torn areas in the state.
A non-governmental organisation under the aegis of Rainforest Resource and Development Centre (RRDC) has chided governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade, over the high rate of deforestation currently ongoing in some parts of the state under the guise of constructing 276 Kilometers superhighway.
RRDC made the allegation in a paper during a workshop with the theme; “Media sensitisation and Forest Community Concerns and Super Highway.” The NGO stressed that if the rate of deforestation in the state is not curtailed Cross River may lose her vast rain forest before the year 2040.
In an interview with journalists shortly after the paper presentation, executive director, RRDC, Odey Oyama alleged that the proposed Super High Way is a gimmick by the administration of Ben Ayade to create access into the hinterland of the state so as to have access to exploit the timbers for his own economic gains.
Oyama, an advocate of forest conservation in Cross River State, blamed the governor for failing to follow due process when he conceived the idea to construct the super highway project adding that the right thing was not done by the administration before kick-starting the super highway project.
The executive director accused the administration of bulldozing people’s economic trees/crops under the guise of doing superhighway without following the due process or making adequate consultation with communities.
He said that bulldozing the rainforest owned by the communities and Cross River National Park, is against the law.
The Cross River State government has announced that its micro-finance bank will soon become operational.
The state governor, Prof Ben Ayade stated this during the inspection of the office complex, along with the Branch Controller, Central Bank of Nigeria, Calabar, Sampson Isuwa and the CBN Head, Development Finance office, Dr. Aniefiok Akpan Umoren.
The bank is being established to boost agriculture in the state.
The Governor said “the only way agriculture can be exciting for young people is to go digital and professional that is why in Cross River, we are taking our time to be the largest rice producers in Africa.
“We have set up the first rice and seedling plant in Africa, we are going into massive and expansive cultivation of rice but to do all of that, we also need a backbone.”
He explained that “Cross River is now supporting CBN and federal government with a state microfinance bank and we are hoping that our date of April 27 as the commissioning date has to be sacrosanct.”
“We have invited the CBN governor who will be here in person. When you ask young men to go into farming, where are they going to get the resources?” Ayade asked rhetorically.
He intimated that although Central Bank of Nigeria provides a facility with a minimal repay period, he has set aside the sum of N500million which will be available to the microfinance bank on the commissioning date when it will open for operations.
He said “The money is set aside for civil servants who want to go into farming, be it must be one, two or three hectares.”
Prof Ayade pointing out that as part of his administration’s efforts to boost farming, which is the right road map for Africa and indeed Nigeria, “the state also has an agricultural development company whose business is to provide agricultural services with an extension service arm.”
Other ventures the governor disclosed would support the agricultural value chain include the white collar farming which allows one the luxury of being a farmer, yet preserves his or her dignity as an educated person.
“As most people think that the university certificate can no longer put their houses on the ground, including the introduction of what he termed, food on the table, hands on the plough.
“In Nigeria, we have land, we are looking for farmers. We have farmers they are looking for money; we have money we
are looking for interest.
“Why would a developing economy that understands that they want to move people away from oil to agriculture still want to put a single digit interest rate in a very short gestation period in an agricultural facility? Again, that makes it difficult, so it is the microfinance bank that will underpin it with the support from Central Bank of Nigeria.”
For Sampson Suwanee, CBN branch controller, “the Prof Ben Ayade-led administration has demonstrated its resolve to create employment for the teeming unemployed youths in the state.”
He added that, “CBN is running after Ayade because of the agricultural program as we want all to bank and access credit facilities.”
Suwanee said “The only way to achieve this is to ensure that we open microfinance bank branches as there are many places across the state that doesn’t have banks. This will help them access credit and pay back.
“The governor’s zeal to make sure that this state is number one is something that we are very happy with. Let us be much stronger in food production that is the only way we can have economic development in this country.”
On his part, Dr Umoren who heads CBN Development Finance office maintained that “we are happy with Ayade for adding value to the economy of the state, creating different clusters across the state to encourage youths to go into farming of crops.”
Cross River Government has regretted the non-appointment of youths into key and sensitive positions in the country. The Director General (DG) Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Betta Edu said this on Saturday at the occasion to marked the 2017 International Youth Day at Transcorp Hotel, Calabar.
Edu said it’s unfortunate that youths do not hold key and vital positions in the country or contribute to key decision making, saying Nigeria should learn from Governor Ayade’s policy of engaging youths in his administration. She said she was fully in support of the NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN BILL because it will create more opportunities for young people with energy, vitality, innovation, creativity and solutions to address the needs of Nigerians.
Dr Edu said the health of young people is also one aspect that is very important as the youth should be aware of HIV, Hepatitis, unwanted pregnancy, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and must protect themselves and used the opportunity to call on every youth to improve their capacity whether by going to school or learning a trade.
The DG advised youths to shun drug abuse as the rate of insecurity in Nigeria are strongly linked with use of hard drugs, weed and other dangerous substances that make the “high”, unreasonable and violent, saying that, “as young people, we must be organized, responsible and show capacity; leading from where you are now,” she advised and called on youths to shun rape and embrace peace.
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this at the end of the FEC meeting held in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He stated that the road would boost socio-economic activities and improve the performance of the economy by reducing journey time, the cost of doing business and also create more job opportunities.
“The Ministry of Power Works and Housing had just one memorandum it was for the award of the Odukpani Itu-Ikot Ekpene route linking Akwa Ibom and Cross River states with a spur to Ibede Itan, the road project was approved for award to messrs Julius Berger Plc.
“So we expect that all of the problems that have been associated with that road which was constructed for well over 40 years ago which has outgrown its design life and also its design capacity those problems will now be frontally responded to by the award of this contract.
“We will do the best to quickly mobilize the contractor to site with the onset of the rainy season and am sure that by this time next year, it will be a better story, a better journey time experience in that area of the country.
“So, this is consistent with the promise of the administration to improve the growth and the performance of the economy by reducing journey time, the cost of doing business and the ease of transport and so on and so forth and also create jobs that would arise from the period of construction,’’ Fashola said.
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