Calabar, Cross River State capital, is famously
referred to as “Paradise City” occasioned by
the idyllic and tranquil atmosphere prevalent in
the city. People from far and wide regularly
flock to the city, especially during
weekends and holidays, to savour the
convivial environment and spectacular cuisine
which the city offers.
However, in recent time, the spate of criminal
activities like kidnappings, armed robbery
and cultism have spiraled in Calabar which put
a question mark on the status of the city as
peaceful. These criminal activities reached a
climax in the second week of June when cult
groups “murdered’ the peace in Calabar with
mindless killings which, not only sent fears in
to the heart of residents but also questioned
the capacity of security agencies to combat
crime in the city.
Since the beginning of the year, there have
been occasional clashes among cult groups
in the city leading to loss of lives and
destruction of property, but the scale of the
violence that took place during the second of
June was the first of its kind in a long while.
Like a bolt from the blue, Wednesday, 8th;
Thursday, 9th; Friday; 10th and Saturday, 11th
June, the peace in the city was shattered as
many lives were lost and others maimed in the
battle among cult groups operating around the
Watt Market and adjoining areas in the central
business area of Calabar. The battle involved
cult groups, including Marvians, Ekpatt,
Skyloo and Vikings which engaged in a
supremacy battle with guns, axes, machetes,
and kitchen knives and by the time the dust
settled on Sunday morning, about 15 persons
had lost their lives.
The fight started over the payment of levies by
tricycle operators. Since the banning of
motorcycle in the city, tricycles have become
a major means of short distance transportation
ferrying people from one street or zone to
another. They have become lords unto
themselves, brazenly disobeying government
regulation barring them from operating in
certain areas. Meanwhile, various groups
have constituted themselves into a notorious
force in certain sections of the town by
turning major streets into “parks” ,
particularly around the Watt market to carry
and discharge commuters. These groups extort
money from other tricycle operators and grant
“immunity’ to their members from such
extortion which is often the source of fracas
among the groups as some tricyclists resist
such extortion which then leads to conflict.
The blood bath of the four days started in one
of those spots along Egerton Street when two
opposing group members were engaged in a
fight over a ‘levy” of N50 which a member of
one group refused to pay to the other group
and, in the ensuring fracas, some people were
critically injured. The next day, one of the major
characters in the fight, whose name was given
as Emmanuel Abuchi, was chased by the other
group through several streets until they caught
up with him at Palm Street/Mayne Avenue
where he was hacked to death.
That killing opened the floodgates of attacks as
over the next three days, members of the
various groups began hunting members of
each other and killings were reported in parts
of the city. Edibedibe/Fenton Street, Edibedibe/
Richard Henshaw Street, Mayne Avenue/
Nyong Edem Street, Target/ Academy Street,
Mbukpa Junction and Nyahasang village
were littered with corpses of combatants in the
battle.
Since the fight and killings were perpetrated in
broad daylight, many people witnessed the
scenes live and had to flee for dear lives
with many sustaining injuries in the process.
One shop operator along Goldie Street was hit
and killed by stray bullets. The mayhem
coincided with the assumption of duties by a
new Police Commissioner in Cross River State,
Jimoh Ozi Obe, who, jolted by the tide of events
went after the hoodlums. He told Sunday
Vanguard that 36 of the hoodlums have been
apprehended along with ten armed robbery
and kidnap suspects.
“We have carried out raids in several cultists
hideout and this has paid handsomely as we
have arrested about 36 of them along with
armed robbery suspects and all of them will
soon appear in court”.
He said only two deaths were recorded in the
fight and the corpses were in the University of
Calabar Teaching Hospital mortuary. “But if
you say the number of deaths is more, tell us
where the other corpses are so that we can go
and get them but I know that the ones we
saw are just two”, Obe said.
The police boss said peace is gradually
returning to Calabar and warned miscreants
and criminals to stay away from the city
because every one of them would soon be
arrested and brought to justice.
Whether peace is returning to Calabar or not,
for now, there is a self-imposed curfew as
people close shops at 6.00pm and night clubs
and drinking joints are now deserted because
people would rather stay in their homes than
venture outside to meet the unknown.
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