Cross River governor, Bassey Otu, has said that he is ready to enforce the state’s extant law on kidnapping, which prescribes death by hanging.
The governor made the declaration when he swore in and assigned ministries to 30 new commissioners in the state on Wednesday, August 16.
Politics Nigeria understands that cultism, armed robbery, and kidnapping are the major crimes that are perpetrated most frequently in the state.
The Nigerian Medical Association said 14 of their doctors were kidnapped in five years, while currently 64-year-old Prof Ekanem Ephraim, consultant of neurology at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), has been held hostage for over 30 days.
Governor Otu, who was obviously angry at the insecurity in the state, said: “I am particularly concerned about the high incidence of kidnapping and other criminal acts committed to collect ransoms, including actions that prevent people from going about their legitimate businesses.
“We are committed to operating within the ambit of the Cross River State Kidnapping Prohibition Law of 2016. This prescribes, amongst other punishments, death by hanging without any option for kidnappers and 20 years imprisonment for attempts to kidnap or abduct.”
He vowed that his administration was ready to enforce the law to the letter in order to end criminal activities in the state.
“My administration is ready to enforce the said law to the letter in order to bring criminal activities to an end. Let me state very unequivocally that enough is enough. This must stop- not tomorrow, but today. We have tolerated this nonsense about insecurity enough,” he declared.
