CP advises car owners to be vigilant to check battery theft

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February 21, 2017 3:17 PM

Inuwa gave the advice following incessant complaints from residents of Cross River about theft of their vehicle batteries.

Cross River State Commissioner of Police Hafiz Inuwa

The Commissioner of Police in Cross River, Mr Hafiz Inuwa, has advised car owners in the state to be vigilant whenever they parked their cars to avoid theft of their car batteries.

Inuwa gave the advice on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) following incessant complaints from residents of Calabar about theft of their vehicle batteries.

He assured that the command would re-enforce its vehicular and foot patrols in all nooks and crannies of the state with a view to curbing the ugly trend.

The commissioner stressed the need for car owners to avoid parking their cars by the roadsides during nocturnal hours.

He said that most of the theft of car batteries were recorded in the night.

“We have received a few complaints from residents about battery theft in Calabar. We are trying our best to increase our patrols in all corners of the state."

“But 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 roadside into their garage; this is not encouraging because the police cannot be everywhere at the same time. We will not spare anyone caught,’’ he said.

NAN reports that the incident is very rampant in Ikot-Ansa area of Calabar Municipality where some affected residents had abandoned their cars because of lack of money to buy new batteries.

A resident in the area and a government retiree, Mr Paul Akan, told NAN that hoodlums used to invade his compound at about 5 a.m. to steal car batteries.

“The incident is very rampant here in Ikot-Ansa. I have lost almost four car batteries to hoodlums who steal car batteries."

“They have made this area their soft target. I am appealing to the police and other relevant agencies to help us curb this ugly trend,’’ he said.

Another resident in the area, Mrs Beatrice Okoronkwo, told NAN that she had lost two car batteries to thieves in the area.

She said she now detached the battery from her car each time she was going to bed.

“Between January and February 2017, I have lost two car batteries to thieves."

‘‘I have learnt my lesson because now I no longer leave my battery in my car whenever I am going to bed,’’ she said.

Mr Aniekan Eyo, said the situation was also the same in Calabar South where he said that they had to form a vigilance group in Ekpo-Abasi area to tackle the menace.

“The situation is worst in our area. The cost of buying a new car battery now in this economic recession period is between N28,000 and N30,000."

“As costly as this battery is, these thieves will steal it and sell for as low as N5,000 just to get some money to smoke cigarette and drink beer."

“We had to form a vigilance group to help us protect our cars because our compounds` are not well protected,’’ Eyo said.

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