Journalists in Cross River State have called on the state Governor, Prince Bassey Otu, to focus more on the security of lives and property.

Their appeal was contained in a communiqué signed by Ubon Ekanem and two others and released yesterday after their meeting at their secretariat in Calabar.

They praised the governor for the achievements he had made in one year and drew his attention to the revival of criminal activities in some parts of the state.

They brought to the attention of residents of Idim Ita and Itonde communities in Calabar South Local Government of the state the security concerns.

The NUJ urged security agencies in the state to increase regular patrols in view of the persistent cases of kidnapping, rape and robbery reported in many communities.

The journalists also drew the attention of the state government to the plight of the people of Okoyong community in Odukpani Local Government, where power outage has been going on for over five years.

According to residents of Okoyong community, the lack of electricity has led to an increase in crime in the area.

They criticised the current economic woes that have led to skyrocketing prices of staple foods and called on the state government to explore measures such as a price control mechanism to mitigate the impact of high cost of staple foods in the state.