Calabar, the capital of Cross River State is engulfed in plumes of smoke as hoodlums have set ablaze houses belonging to top politicians in the state and looted their property.
Apart from burning and looting private facilities, they also set ablaze and looted public buildings in the city.
A port city in Southern Nigeria, near the Cameroon border, Calabar sits on a hill near the Calabar River and the Cross River delta. British colonial architecture fills the city’s older sections, including Henshaw Town, Duke Town and the waterfront area.
The situation in Calabar, which appears uncontrolled for now, began on Friday.
Jonathan Agban-ugbal, a journalist with CrossRiverWatch, who is on the ground in Calabar, told PREMIUM TIMES by phone that the situation in the city is “free for all right now”.
“I can confirm to you that Senator Geshom Bassey, representing the Southern Senatorial District, Victor Ndoma Egba, former NDDC chairman, their houses have been broken into, some part of their houses have been set ablaze right now.
“They are looting the residence of Senator Bassey Ewa Henshaw, former NDDC MD. He is there in the house with his wife and daughter.”
Mr Agban-ugbal said Mr Henshaw called him on phone and asked him to help call for a rescue.
“I have reached out to the governor’s chief security officer and chief details, they said they would deploy people there immediately to see how they could help the situation,” the journalist said.
“Tinapa is being looted as I am talking to you. I am just close to the Tinapa junction. In fact, it has been looted dry,” he said.
On Friday, the mob broke into a warehouse where COVID-19 palliative were stored and looted bags of rice and other items, while soldiers stood by to watch, apparently because Governor Ben Ayade had issued an instruction that security officials should not shoot at anyone seen looting government warehouses.
The government-owned newspaper, The Nigerian Chronicle, has been vandalised and looted.
“The looting continues, they have moved from public facilities to private residence of politicians,” Mr Agban-ugbal.
“At 8 Miles, it is a war zone, there’s no military or police presence here. I drove all the way from Calabar South…. If the people stop you and you refuse to carry them in your vehicle to where they are currently ransacking, they will vandalise your vehicle,” he said.
“Yes, it is true,” said the police spokesperson in Cross River State, Irene Ugbo, when PREMIUM TIMES asked her if the situation in Calabar was “chaotic.”
Christian Ita, the spokesperson to Governor Ayade, told PREMIUM TIMES that the situation in Calabar is “very chaotic”.
Vanguard reports that Five persons were reported dead with three children declared missing in Calabar on Friday night following the outbreak of looting and violence in the city by hoodlums who invaded public and private warehouses to loot.
Three of those who died were trapped in the fire that engulfed the Cross River State office of the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, while two died in the stampede as crowds surged to cart away foodstuff and office equipment in the office of the agency while the children went missing as their parents were busy looting.
The First Bank PLC branch at 8 miles and Techno phone office were looted and set on fire along with the Value Mart stall owned by Mrs Obioma Imoke, wife of the former governor of the state, Senator Liyel Imoke.
Hoodlums set Chronicle Newspapers, SEMA ablaze in Calabar. The looting which went on all night is still going on as at the time of writing this report with a horde of both young and old carting away properties and drugs from the Cross River Essential Drugs Store located near the premises of the Nigerian Chronicle which was completely stripped bare of equipment and office furniture before by the looters.
The Editor-In-Chief- of Nigerian Chronicle, Mr Sam Egbala had two of his cars set ablaze by the hoodlums while several other staff lost personal property to the looters.
