Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State may have reported the current State Commissioner of Police, Sikiru Akande to both Inspector General of Police (IGP) and President Muhammadu Buhari, accusing him of being too close to the opposition and the growing civil society elements in the State.

According to a report by CrossRiverWatch, a source told the online media platform’s reporter that the governor complained that, “Akande was OC Mopol in Calabar when Donald Duke was governor and the two remain very close till date and Donald Duke has now returned to PDP, the opposition party in the State.

“He said the CP is working for the opposition. He also accused the CP of creating a soft ground in the State for activists and radical elements to flourish. He doesn’t find it funny”, the told CrossRiverWatch.

The source who pleaded to remain anonymous said, the governor requested the redeployment of the CP last week when he visited Abuja to hoist the APC flag with Mr. President, however added that the governor did not deny that the CP has done a good job with the security of the State since he took over but that he was uncomfortable with his closeness to the opposition and the civil society in the State.

The police authorities were contacted to comment on the accusations but none of the persons contacted were willing to comment saying the matter is too sensitive.

An officer who said he has no authority to speak on the matter simply debunked the claims of the governor, saying that the CP, since resumption of work in Cross River State has done his work without fear or favour.

The CrossRiverWatch said it reported an average of 9 to 12 incidents of kidnapping every week in Calabar and Akpabuyo alone before CP Sikiru Akande was posted to the State, reporting that after the CP’s arrival, the frequency of such incidents reduced to 1 in a month.

The online medium reported that also worthy of note is the fact that these kidnappings are now restricted to riverine areas like the recent one at the University of Calabar water front; unlike when these dare devil criminals came frequently into the heart of Calabar Municipality in broad day light and pick their victims randomly, then escape with ease.

Criminal rendezvous in 8 Miles, Uwanse, Asabanka in Akpabuyo, amongst others have also been cleared, while the remnants have also ran out of town due to the heat from the Police, the online news portal further reported.

So it is curious why rather than supporting this effort, the governor will push for his removal; not for lack of performance but for political reasons, the CrossRiverWatch’s report concluded.

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