Gov. Usman Ododo of Kogi says the state is committed to win the war against criminals, and enemies of peace and progress.

The governor stated this in a statement by the state’s commissioner for information, Kingsley Fanwo, on Saturday in Lokoja.

Mr Ododo was quoted as saying that: “My administration is rising to the challenge of defeating the torrent of criminality waged against our dear state in the last one month.

“We believe that the torrent of attacks on insurgents, bandits and kidnappers in the North-East has dislodged them and many of them are now trying to find their feet in the North-Central.

“All the same, Kogi government is deploying an iron-cast approach to safeguarding the state from the fangs of these criminals.”

He said the recent rescue of 21 out of the 24 kidnapped students of Confluence University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH), was a clear testament that Kogi would be ruthless against criminals in the state.

The government, he said, on Saturday received heart-warming reports of the rescue of two kidnapped women from Yagba West and Yagba East Local Government Areas of the state.

Mr Ododo said the government had also secured the release of scores of kidnapped victims who were not even residents of the state but kidnapped in their various states and taken to the forests.

He added that: “We are still searching frantically for the three remaining CUSTECH students yet to be rescued.

“This is because every citizen’s life is important to the government.

“Consequently, I have approved the immediate employment of thousands of local hunters across the 21 local government areas of the state.

“Their immediate task is going after the criminals and taking the fight to their camps and hideouts, which is already yielding positive results.

“Also, the Joint Forces of the army, police, DSS, NSCDC, Metropolitan Response Squad and hunters group are currently carrying out simultaneous operations in Lokoja as well as across the three senatorial districts, including our border communities.”

Mr Ododo disclosed that he had silently declared war on criminals in the state, deployed resources and forces to ensure that enemies of the people are defeated.

The governor also expressed profound gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his support and encouragement to make Kogi a crime free state.

According to him, his administration is working hard to protect everyone, adding that the criminals were learning in a hard way that Kogi would not be a ground for their criminal trade.

“The criminals are rattled and they won’t escape justice as this government has put everything into winning this war against criminality.

“Therefore, we urge residents to also play their part by volunteering intelligence to security agencies for the effective security of our dear state.”

(NAN)