The Computer and Allied Product Dealers Association of Nigeria, a trade association of Computer Village market traders, is collaborating with Fonreg Software to develop a web portal, which enable them to track stolen phones.

As a result, traders are expected to register on the web portal every buyer who purchases any item from them, especially mobile phones.

The CAPDAN said that the need to create the portal became necessary given the rise in the sale of stolen smartphones and fake accessories in the market in the last one year.

“In the event that a mobile phone was stolen and returned to the market for sale, the trader could quickly log on to the portal to verify if the phone was stolen. If verified that it was a stolen phone, the trader would quickly alert the real owner and the police would be invited for necessary prosecution,” the CAPDAN President, Mr. Adeniyi Ojikutu, told our correspondent.

He added, “We are already using all means at our disposal to advise all customers to the Computer Village to always insist on registering their mobile phones with Fonreg, immediately they are purchased.”

The Chief Executive Officer, Fonreg, Mr. Ayo Thomas, confirmed the new move by CAPDAN, saying that the portal would be unveiled in June to create further awareness.

According to him, traders at the market have welcomed the initiative.

“Over 200 traders have already registered on the portal,” he said, adding that more awareness campaign would continue in order to bring all the traders on the web portal.

While reacting to the planned relocation of the market by the Lagos State government, Ojikutu said the state government had assured the traders that it would carry them along in the planning process.

The CAPDAN president, however, advised the government to ensure that the relocation plan would not bring division in the market and that it would not lead to loss of revenue on the part of the traders, whom he said, were doing legitimate business in the state.

Ojikutu said, “If a holistic approach is not taken, it could lead to total destruction of the Ikeja market master plan. Government should take a clue from Silcon Valley in the United States, which was developed over a long period.”

He added, “Government should have a long-term plan for the market, while considering the future of the market as the largest concentration of computer traders in West Africa, as well as the future of the traders who have also invested so much in other locations

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