Cross River Governor, Ayade, wants death penalty for kidnappers

Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River on Wednesday sent an executive bill seeking death penalty for convicted kidnappers in the state, to the House of Assembly for consideration and passage.

This was contained in a statement signed by Christian Ita, Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser to the governor in Calabar.

According to the statement, the bill also seeks to empower the government to seize property belonging to convicted kidnappers and other criminals in the state.

It stated that the bill offers rewards to citizens who volunteer information to security agencies on activities of criminals.

This, according to the statement, is to curb incidence of kidnapping in the state.

The statement also quoted the governor as saying the state would not condone any act of lawlessness in view of ongoing effort at re-engineering the state’s economy.

It, however, stated that the state would maintain its leading position as the most peaceful state in the country and the most investor-friendly.

The statement stated that the governor had approved the constitution of a Security Taskforce, named “Operation Skolombo’’.

It named retired Gen. Mannings Nyiam as the Chairman of the taskforce, saddled with the task of riding the state of criminals.