{"id":7059,"date":"2018-01-09T23:25:26","date_gmt":"2018-01-09T23:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=7059"},"modified":"2018-01-09T23:25:26","modified_gmt":"2018-01-09T23:25:26","slug":"after-don-wani-wike-places-n640-million-bounty-on-32-cultists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/?p=7059","title":{"rendered":"After Don Wani; Wike places N640 million bounty on 32 cultists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: www.nan.ng<\/strong>
\nBy John Amieyeofori\/Port Harcourt,<\/strong>
\nGov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers has declared 32 cultists wanted in a state broadcast\u00a0 and asked the security agencies to go after them, putting a bounty of N20m each for information that could lead to their\u00a0 arrest.
\nThe total reward is N640million, N440million more than what the governor offered for the arrest of Don Wani, the kidnap kingpin and cultist, linked with the killing of 23 people in Omoku on New Year\u2019s Day.
\nThe broadcast\u00a0 was a celebration of the killing of the criminal, whose real name was Johnson Igwedibia. He was killed by the military on Saturday at a hideout in Enugu.
\nAccording to Wike,\u00a0 32 cultists remain in 12 local government areas in the state and had reneged on the terms of amnesty offered them by his government.
\nHe listed them and said he\u00a0 wanted all of them arrested\u00a0 and prosecuted by the security agencies, pledging all assistance necessary.
\n\u201cBased on reliable information by the security agencies, I hereby direct them to immediately arrest and prosecute the under-mentioned persons who have either reneged on the terms of the amnesty and or refused to embrace same by continuing with cultism, kidnapping and armed robbery in the state,\u201d the governor said.
\n\u201cThe Rivers State Government will pay N20 million to any person who volunteers useful information that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of any of the afore-mentioned persons. Since 2015, we have been calling for tackling security issues devoid of political considerations in Rivers State in order to achieve maximum result,\u2019\u2019 he added
\nGovernor Wike wanted to end the era of criminals running colonies in the state as he\u00a0 warned them\u00a0 to leave the state or risk facing the death sentence.
\nHis government is proposing an amendment of the State Anti-kidnapping Law, which\u00a0 prescribed death sentence for criminals involved in cultism, robbery and kidnapping.
\nWike warned that the State Government\u00a0has zero tolerance\u00a0for crime and criminal activities, adding that his administration will continue\u00a0to adopt measures to protect\u00a0lives and property in the state.
\n\u201cWe reiterate our zero tolerance for all forms of criminality and reassure all residents of our determination to be tough on those who\u00a0choose to violate our criminal laws and undermine peace and security in the state,\u2019\u2019 he added.
\n\u201cTo underscore the seriousness we attach to the fight against violent crime, we shall be amending the Anti-kidnapping law to prescribe the maximum sentence for engaging in cultism, robbery and kidnapping.\u201d
\nHe lamented that the amnesty programme of the state government which\u00a0enthroned peace and was largely successful had been compromised.
\n\u201cOur decision to offer amnesty to all repentant cultists, militants and criminals was done in good faith and in the best interest of the state,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cRegrettably, while the programme was on course, some opposition leaders in our state, unhappy with the successes recorded, dissuaded some armed militants and cultists from sincerely embracing the amnesty,\u2019\u2019 said the governor.
\n\u201cThis is the reason why we must thank the President for doing things differently and with the support of all, a different result has been achieved,\u2019\u2019 he stressed.
\nAccording to him,\u00a0the security challenges in Omoku antedated his administration.
\n\u201cFor years the security situation in Omoku in particular, and Ogba\/Egbema\/Ndoni Local Government Area in general, has been most challenging because of the criminal activities of Don Wanny and his gang,\u2019\u2019 he said.
\n\u201cWe therefore wholeheartedly thank President Muhammadu Buhari for rising to the occasion and not politicking with the issue of security,\u2019\u2019 the governor said.
\n\u201cWe also commend the security agencies, particularly, the Nigerian Army and the Department of State Security, for swiftly rising to the challenge in the most professional manner,\u2019\u2019 Wike said.
\n\u201cThere is no doubt that this heroic success has proven what is possible when our security agencies are willing to discharge their constitutional duties with unadulterated commitment and professionalism,\u201d he stressed.
\nHe said that the\u00a0decision of the state government\u00a0on the amnesty offer was clear, adding that \u201cthose\u00a0who genuinely embraced it were bound to fully, completely and perpetually renounce all forms of criminality to enjoy the terms of the amnesty or face the full weight of the law when they deviated\u00a0 from the programme\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: www.nan.ng By John Amieyeofori\/Port Harcourt, Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers has declared 32 cultists wanted in a state broadcast\u00a0 and asked the security agencies to go after them, putting a bounty of N20m each for information that could lead to their\u00a0 arrest. The total reward is N640million, N440million more than what the governor offered […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7059\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}