Concerned with theoccurrence of cases of kidnappings in the recent times on Abuja-Kaduna highway, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris has deployed to the route a joint Police team comprising Special Police Force, Police Mobile Force, Counter Terrorism Squad, Anti-Kidnapping Units, Intelligence Response Team, Special Tactical Squad, the Force Intelligence Branch, the Police Mobile Force with Headquarters at Rijanah, Kaduna State.

The Joint Police Team, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Jimoh Moshood is underspecific and definite mandate to root out the kidnapand armed robbery gangsthat have been terrorising the Abuja-Kaduna Highway in recent times.

The operation, according to Moshood, is to complement and augment the on-going Joint Police/Military operations on ground before now.

He explained: “To achieve success of Operation Absolute Sanity, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Department of Operations has been mandated to supervise the operation as overall Commander, while the Deputy Commissioner of Police in-charge of the Police Mobile Force is the Grand Commander of the Operations.

“The Police personnel will be proactive and work on actionable intelligence at the disposal of the Force and carry out massive deployment and 24 hours surveillance and patrol, continuous raids of identified and other suspected hideouts of the kidnappers with a view to arresting them promptly before they attack innocent people. They will also nip in the bud other violent crimes such as armed robbery, car snatching, etc on the Abuja-Kaduna Road.”

The spokesman further disclosed that Police helicopters would embark on aerial surveillance and guided missions to assist Operation Absolute Sanity’s personnel on the ground in covering difficult terrains.

He assured: “The Inspector General of Police hereby urges members of the public, most especially commuters, travellers, road users and people in the towns and villages along Abuja-Kaduna Highway not to panic on the mass deployment of Police personnel, but to assist and cooperate with the Police personnel in the discharge of their responsibilities.