Ex-senator kidnapped in Cross River

A Third Republic senator in Cross River State was on Wednesday evening abducted by unknown gunmen.
It was learnt that Senator Ani who represented Cross River South under the defunct National Republican Convention between 1991 and 1992 was abducted in his farm in Akpabuyo local government area, on the outskirts of Calabar, the state capital.

He was abducted without any resistance.
Police Public Relations Office, ASP Irene Ugbo, said she was going to confirm if it is true and get back to our reporter but failed to do so at press time.
But a staff in the farm of the confirmed the incident under anonymity.
He said the police had come around to the scene of the incident take over the matter.
In view of the rising wave of criminal activities, the government of Cross River is to set up a Homeland Security Service a part of measures to address the challenge.
Governor Ben Ayade who disclosed this while receiving the French Consul-General, Laurent Polonceaux and his entourage on a courtesy visit in his private residence in Calabar explained that the essence of the Homeland Security Service will be entirely non-arm bearing organizational outfit, and that the state will rely on the support of the government of France for technical and other support logistics for the security organization.
Ayade said that the envisaged Homeland Security which is expected to provide 3000 jobs for Cross Riverians will however be a complete departure from the traditional attitude to security operations, and that it will concentrate but not limited to providing intelligence, profiling of visitors coming into the state and out of the state, including carrying services such as neighborhood check and watch and providing intelligent data and services to Police.
The governor said “with the visit of the Consul-General of France in Nigeria and with the useful deliberation we had, looking the security challenges facing the state and the Niger Delta at this period and looking at how Lafarge can do business much better in a less security tense atmosphere, it became imperative for us to create a security architecture that can protect Lafarge and extend other services to other citizens and visitors to Cross River. Cross River has been the home of tourism, a signature and hallmark of hospitality and good lifestyle for all Africans, hence it is imperative we make it very safe.
“It is against this background that Cross River State Government with technical partnership from the French government would be looking at the possibility of setting up a Cross River State Security services. The Cross River Homeland Security service is a complete departure from what is the tradition, it will however include but not limited to things like providing intelligence, profiling of visitors coming in and
out, providing intelligence services also, doing neigbourhood check, neigbourhood watch and to understand who comes in and out, providing intelligence data and services to Police, but it will be a non-arm bearing, but with vehicles, and personnel parading and inviting people”.
“We have the French government support providing us with the necessary support we need to succeed, but importantly providing human security services will be the first point of call between the Homeland Security and the people. It is technical in nature, it is intellectual, it is packed with a design to focus more on data gathering, intelligence gearing, because in security network, if you have advanced knowledge it will help to abet any action, and that is what we think the homeland security service will have a particular edge.

“The secret service unit of the Homeland Security service will focus more on intelligence gathering in a digital nature, including satellite gathering which we expect to get some institutional approval from the federal government. It is our hope and strong conviction that this is the way to go in the face of the challenging tension we have in the Niger Delta”.
Governor Ayade stated that to this end, an executive Bill would be sent to the Cross River House of Assembly for a law to establish the Cross River State Homeland Security Services.