Delta state Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has said that he was prepared to step on  the toes of highly placed personalities, if need be, in his administration’s poise to check the menace of kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes in the state.

The governor who spoke on Sunday, at the Annual End of Year Thanksgiving Service organized by Iwere Kingdom,  in Warri, complained that such acts of criminalities were an embarrassment to the state and that it was seriously affecting the image of the state among investors and visitors.

While asserting that some communities have been known to harbor such criminal elements  by giving them a playing field to perfect their nefarious acts, he warned that such communities that aid and abet those who engage in acts of violence and criminality against other members of the society would not be spared in the crackdown against criminality.

“You know I took an oath to protect lives and properties and I would not sit back and watch other people terrorize other members of the society.

“All those engaged in one form of criminality or the other such as armed robbery and kidnapping in Delta State should stop their nefarious acts and retrace their steps. In the coming year we are going to take security more seriously and anyone caught would be made to face the law.

“Communities that provide these criminals a safe haven would have themselves to blame as we cannot continue this way.”

In his sermon, the chaplain of the of the Warri kingdom, Dr. Mark Erumi harped on the importance of thanksgiving that is acceptable to God, just as prayers were said for the peace and progress of Nigeria, Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, Iwere Kingdom and the Olu Of Warri among others.