In a bid to check  the rising wave of criminality like kidnapping, armed banditry and other social malaise, which has bedeviled  Nigeria in recent times, the Nigerian Police has extended its launch of Operation Puff Adder to Calabar.
The Cross River State Police Commissioner, Austin Austin Agbonlahor, while addressing the police and other service chiefs like the navy, army, airforce in the State, stated that the launch of operation puff Adder was in line with the Inspector General of police’s directives that the operation be launched in the State.
“You may recall that on April 5, 2019,the Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Abubakar NPM launched a special operation code name “ Operation Puff Adder” to tackle emerging insecurity challenges especially kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry among others crimes along Abuja -Kaduna Express Way  and other parts of the country”. “The IGP equally directed the commissioner of police in charge of
state police commands to replicate same in their respective state commands” “In compliance with IGP’s directive, today the Cross River State Police Command is inaugurating a special squad, code named operation Puff Adder” stressing that the operation will be under the direct supervision of commissioner of police, the police CP said.
When asked to explain on the formation of the squad, he said that personnel of the squad were drawn from the conventional Police, police Mobile Force, Special Protection Unit, Rapid Response Squad, Special Anti Robbery Squad, Anti-Cultism and Kidnapping Squad and others. He said that the mission of the operation was to intensify effort to tackle crime which is almost putting the populace in fear and urged the officers and men of the operation to ensure that all their operations are carried within the ambit of the law in a manner that they won’t infringe on the fundamental human right of the citizenry.

Friday Nwagbara, Calabar