Due to missing sports equipment from the Cross River State Sports Commission, two security personnel have been detained and fired.
At the U.J. Esuene Stadium last month, 133 shotput and 72 discus were purportedly stolen.
For the disastrous 2020 National Sporting Festival, the missing sports equipment was purchased during the governor Liyel Imoke government.
After Cross River State was unable to host the NSF due to a lack of funding, Edo was given the hosting privileges.
The incident was confirmed by Emmanuel Elom, the chairman of the Cross River State Sports Commission, who also said that several people had been detained in connection with the incident and that the police were looking into it.
The two security personnel who had been detained in connection with the incident were reportedly freed, and the case was transferred from the Area Command Akim Police Station to the Anti-Cult Department at the Cultural Center Complex in Calabar without any charges being filed.
William Anderson, the chief security officer, stated: “Proper investigation should be carried out to bring the culprits to justice. This is an organised crime. These sports equipment were not taken in one day.”
The Stadium Manager, Mike Andotan, said, “It’s somebody that knows about the usefulness of the equipment that stole them. It’s organised. For us to lose 133 shotput and 72 discus did not happen in one day. I think the stadium security did not do their job properly.”
Ofu Anya, the state’s commissioner for athletics, likewise attested to the occurrence and added that the Cross River State Sports Commission was in charge of managing the stadium.
