AFOKANG—TO every resident of Calabar, capital of Cross River State, the mention of the name, Calabar South Local Government Area evokes an instant feeling of fear and if given an option, they would rather have nothing to do with the neighbourhood, yet it is the most densely inhabited of the state capital.

Knowing the time to move or otherwise in Calabar South is something that some residents have learned by heart like the 10 Commandments in the Bible. Those who failed to acquaint themselves with the rules had paid dearly for it on many occasions in the past.

Mr. Ajang Samuel, Cross River State correspondent of a national newspaper, who lives in the area, attended a function at the famous Tinapa Tourists and Business Resort, located some 11 kilometres in the outskirts of Calabar recently.

The function dragged into the night, but while others who also  attended the programme with him  entered their  cars and drove  home at the end, Ajang recoiled in the back seat of his 190  Mercedes Benz and slumbered off till the early hours of the day before he  returned to his apartment.

The reason Ajang did not return to his residence that night is because the Afokang area where he lives in Calabar South is the place with the highest propensity for crime and criminal activities  and moving by such period of the night in the area automatically predisposes one to attacks by hoodlums.

Police sources told Niger Delta Voice that eight out of every 10 cases of criminal acts, such as kidnappings, rapes, phone snatching, armed robbery, burglary and ritual killings were either perpetrated in Calabar South or by residents of the area,  making the area the most notorious and dreaded  place  in the entire state.

Flash points

Our source stated that places like Idang Street, Bayside, Afokang, Edibe Edibe Streets are populated by cult groups that go with such names as:  I D Boys, Bayside Boys, Nsidung Boys, Agaba Boys and Ikot Ekpo Boys and they constantly harass, terrorize and rob people of their property.

“Even in broad daylight, these boys rape, rob and kidnap people and they are really a challenge to us here at the police headquarters,” the police source hinted.

According to him, “Every effort made to reduce the crime rate in the area has seemingly not yielded much result. I think the high population, windy streets and alleys in the area are contributing to this.

“Really, most of the streets are inaccessible to police van and when you send policemen on foot to patrol the area, they are attacked mostly at night which makes it difficult to reduce the crime rate in the area.”

Business shuts down 8pm

Ostensibly because of the high crime rate, businesses close as early as 8.00 pm and those who dare extend their operational time to about 10.00 pm do so under heavy security and even at that, hoodlums still find a way of attacking and dispossessing the operators of cash and other valuables.

A teacher whose   wife opera-tes a provision store in the front of his apartment, along Musaha Street,   told our reporter that some two weeks ago, some people came at the dead of night, carted away all the items in the shop and carted away the generator.

“I was too scared to come out and confront them and did not bother to call the police because I know they will not come.”

Hotel owners relocate

The rampant attacks on hotel and leisure spots had led to the closure and relocation of most of the hotels to Calabar munici-pality where there exists a favourable business environ-ment.

A former member of the House of Representatives, Gab Eddy, told Niger Delta Voice: “I had to change my hotel to a residential apartment because many guests were afraid of the name Calabar South and even the tourist guides would never take a guest to any hotel in Calabar South, so I had to change because I was losing money every year owing to lack of patronage.”