The Cross River state Government, CRSG led by Sen. Prof. Ben Ayade has been cautioned against pampering crime in the state NEGROIDHAVEN can report authoritatively.
This call was made on Tuesday in Calabar by the Special Adviser on Amnesty to the Governor of Cross River, Mr Austin Ibok while being a guest on FAD 93.1FM.
Ibok the SA Amnesty suggested that Cross River, in not using the carrot and stick approach to resolving the crisis between former agitators under the auspices of Bakassi Strike Force, BSF, is pampering crime.
Ibok said that, ‘We can’t keep working like this and put everybody’s life at risk like what they did that they… Blocking the road? It’s not done. We need to wake up and know what we do as government.
‘People will come and threaten you and you pamper crime. I saw when they were interviewing them, begging them… you are begging crime? That’s why we keep having the problems we are having. I’m tired… That we should pamper crime?
‘These boys… We have given you opportunity. Wait we will empower you. Don’t come and take government hostage. Government should give you money. Did you give government money when you were committing crime? Where you not destroying things that belonged to government?’
In urging the use the carrot and stick method said ‘‘I will plead with the Cross River state government that we should always use ‘stick and carrot’. I will plead with the boys please hold on, you can even see the micro project going on to tell you that the thing will still reach your own turn because it’s state by state.’’
Recall that former members of Bakassi Strike Force, BSF numbering about 150 in the early hours Monday blocked the entrance to the governor’s office in protest of unpaid allowances and government’s inability to fulfill the MoU it signed with them since 2018.
Our correspondent gathered that it took the intervention of some leaders of the group who prevailed on their members, that the gate of the Governor’s office was not pulled down.
