By Ike Uchechukwu

CALABAR—Worried by the spate of violent crimes in the state, the Cross River State Government has introduced a new coding system on commercial vehicles operating in the state, including tricycles, to curb armed robbery, kidnapping and other crimes.

Speaking with Vanguard during the exercise, Thursday in Calabar, the State Security Adviser Governor Ayade, Mr. Jude Ngaji said the measure was to create a data bank of all the commercial vehicle operators in the state with a view to curb insecurity in the metropolis and the state at large.

Ngaji said: “The operators have all filled forms giving their full details, so, if a case is reported about a vehicle, all we do is simply check on the system and know who the owner of the vehicle is.

“We are being proactive, knowing that these criminal activities happen around us every day, we need to curb it. This is not an indictment on any commercial vehicle operator but it is something we must do to ensure that most of the common criminal cases are reduced.”