Police declare war on kidnappers in Rivers

Posted by admin Headlines, Rivers, State News Thursday, July 31st, 2014

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, announced the command’s resolve yesterday, while briefing journalists in Port Harcourt.

Ogunsakin said the command had reduced the rate of abduction in the state, adding that the number of rescued victims had been overwhelming. He said the police were not happy with the reported cases of kidnap, stressing that the crime must be nipped in the bud.

“The number of arrest we made and the number of victims we have even rescued were overwhelming. Kidnapping is too bad, we don’t want a situation where anybody would be kidnapped. That is why we want to sensitise the people that kidnapping should stop.

“We want to ensure that kidnapping is stopped in Rivers State. We are not happy with all these cases of kidnap. People should be able to do their work freely without any hindrance,” he said.

The state police boss advised members of the public to be wary of those they employed as house-helps, citing a case where a houseboy arranged for the abduction of his boss. He said after rescuing the victim and the boy’s account was checked, millions of naira was found.

He advised: “Before you employ a houseboy, check the background very well,” adding that most kidnap cases were carried out through information from a close source.

The police commissioner said the command had put security mechanisms in place, including the provision of a dedicated telephone number to police stations in the state.

Ogunsakin said the dedicated number was to ensure that distress calls were responded to promptly by the police, before the criminals would leave the scene.wp_posts