No less than one thousand traders selling technology and other communication gadgets on Wednesday in Calabar protested sustained burglary attacks on their shops.

Armed with various placards with inscriptions such as: “Businesses cannot function in an unsafe environment;” “My prince, our gadget shops are shutting down;” “Phones and gadget shops are shutting down;” and “There are no patrol teams in the city of Calabar from 12 am to 6 am, so criminals have an easy ride on us.”

The protesters went around the streets of Calabar appealing to the governor, Senator Bassey Edet Otu to intervene in the situation and boost security around their marketplaces.

While regretting that no less than seven shops have been invaded and goods taken away in the last three months, the protesters appealed to both the state government and relevant security agencies in the state to save them from the incessant burglary attacks.

Spokesman of the protesters, Paschal Obi who put the losses at over N700 million naira, claimed that traders no longer feel safe.

“So many of my colleagues have suffered enormous losses due to burglaries and robberies. Over N700 million has been lost by all the shops collectively, and this is quite huge.

” These monies largely come from bank loans, so the government should come to our aid by providing security”, he said.

Also speaking, George Nwosu, the CEO of George Gadgets, said his shop was burgled twice in 2024 alone.

According to him, the matter was reported to the police “and nothing has come out of it yet.”

He complained that the poor level of security in Calabar Metropolis was worrisome and called for government assistance to enable them to recoup losses as well as conduct their businesses in a secure environment.

Another businessman, Okoro Benjamin said two of his ships were burgled on the 10th and 11th of December 2024 and that he lost goods worth over N400 million.

He also pleaded for help in terms of security because most of them were running out of business and had nothing to do.

When contacted, SP Irene Ugbo, the Cross River Police Public Relations Officer, said the command is investigating the robberies and will surely get the robbers

She also disclosed that as a temporary measure, the command will put an eye along that axis of the metropolis and make a place for a stationary patrol team along the area for improved security.