Tech and gadget dealers in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, yesterday staged a protest over losses exceeding N700 million due to relentless burglary attacks over the past three months.
Some protesters carried placards with bold inscriptions such as: “Business can’t thrive in an unsafe environment” and “Our gadget shops are shutting down.”
The protesters expressed frustration over the surge in robberies, attributing the situation to a lack of police patrols from midnight to dawn.
Their spokesperson, Mrs Paschal Obi, as reported by the Guardian Newspaper revealed that about seven shops had been looted, with the losses amounting to hundreds of millions of naira, much of it derived from bank loans.
“Over N700 million is gone. We’re barely surviving. The government must step in and secure our businesses,” Obi appealed. Victims of the attacks, including George Nwosu and Benjamin Okro, recounted that their shops were looted consecutively last December, resulting in losses of goods worth N400 million.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Cross River State Police Command, SP Irene Ugbo, confirmed the robberies and stated that investigations were ongoing. She assured the public that a stationary patrol team would be deployed to strengthen security in the affected areas.
