Following the success recorded by the Federal Government's whistle-blower policy, Cross River State has taken a cue from it.
Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, has promised a N1m cash reward to anyone who provides information that will lead to the arrest of kidnappers and armed robbers in the state.
The governor, who said the reward was an executive order christened “Hafiz law,” noted that it was meant to check kidnappings and armed robberies.
He made this pronouncement at the Government House in Calabar when he received the acting Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hafiz Inuwa, who was on courtesy visit.
The executive order, according to Ayade, stipulates that anybody who gives information leading to the arrest of an armed robber or a kidnapper is entitled to N1m.
He said, “From today, there is a whistle-blowing law in Cross River State that guarantees you N1m when you unmask an armed robber, somebody who is in possession of illegal firearms, or somebody you know is a kidnapper or harbouring a kidnapped victim.”
Ayade frowned on the situation where people who were arrested on issues relating to armed robbery or kidnapping found their way back to the streets without prosecution.
“We will give you the financial support to continue to feed them until the law takes its full course,” he said.
He said that the police had the capacity and intelligence to determine when a suspect was falsely accused even as he gave the assurance that innocent persons would not be victimised.
The governor noted that the state was not known for violence, adding that 99 per cent of criminals arrested in the state were traced to other states.
He assured the police commissioner of his administration’s readiness to offer full support.
Earlier, the commissioner of police disclosed that he would work with anybody willing to assist the police in ensuring that the state was peaceful.
“I have come to work and I am ready to work day and night. I don’t believe in sitting down in the office. I must achieve my mandate, I will not let the country, government and the Inspector-General of Police down,” Inuwa said.