Residents of Calabar, the Cross River State capital, have
been lamenting the rising cases of car battery theft in the metropolis.
The incident is reportedly more rampant in Ikot-Ansa,
Parliamentary, Eight Miles and Ikot-Ishie axis of Calabar municipality where
some affected residents have abandoned their cars because they cannot afford
new batteries.
A resident of Parliamentary Extension, Solomon Ibor, had
complained to the police that the hoodlums recently invaded his compound at
about 5am to steal car batteries.
He said, “The incident is very rampant here in Ikot-Ansa. I
have lost almost four car batteries to hoodlums whose job is to steal car
batteries.
“They have made this area their soft spot. I am appealing to
the police and other relevant agencies to help us to curb this ugly trend.”
Another resident of Ikot-Ishie, Lillian John, said she had
lost two of her car batteries to thieves in the area, adding that she had
started removing the battery from the car each time she went to sleep.
“Between January and now, I have lost two car batteries to
jobless thieves. I have learnt my lesson because now I no longer leave my
battery in my car whenever am going to bed,” she said.
The situation is also the same in Calabar-South, where
another resident of Howel Street, Mr. Kingsley Umoh, said residents of his
street have had to form a vigilante group to tackle the menace.
“The situation is worst in our area. The cost of buying a
new car battery now in this recession is between N28, 000 and N30, 000. As
costly as this battery is, these thieves will steal it and sell for as low of
N5, 000 just to get smoking and drinking money.
“We had to form a vigilante group to help us to protect our
cars because our compounds are not fenced round,” he said.
The Cross River State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hafiz
Inuwa, on Tuesday urged car owners to be mindful of where they parked their
cars to avoid battery theft.
The commissioner of police, however, gave the assurance that
the command would step up its vehicular and foot patrols to curb the trend.
He stressed the need for car owners to avoid parking their
cars by the road side at night.
“We received
complaints from resident about battery theft in Calabar metropolis. We are
trying our best to increase our patrol in all corners of the state.
“Security should not be left in the hands of the police and
the government alone. Car owners must be vigilant and conscious in protecting
their valuables.
“Some people have turned the road side into their garages;
this is not encouraging because the police cannot be everywhere at the same
time. But, we will not spare anyone caught,” Inuwa said.
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