Police deny shooting students during Calabar protest after fatal accident
The Cross River State Police Command has said its officers did not shoot at students during a protest in Calabar on Monday morning.
The protest was carried out mainly by students of the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS). The students came out in large numbers to express anger over how the state government handled the treatment of their colleagues who were injured in a recent road accident.
The accident happened over the weekend along the Odukpani area of the Calabar–Itu highway. The students were returning from Uyo in Akwa Ibom State when their vehicle collided head-on with a truck. Sadly, four students died on the spot.
Emergency workers, including officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and police officers, rushed six injured students to hospitals in Calabar, including the General Hospital.
However, some students claimed that their injured colleagues did not receive proper care after arriving at the hospital. They alleged that there was no food and that medical attention was slow or inadequate.
Angered by the situation, the students marched to the General Hospital on Mary Slessor Road. During the protest, some facilities were damaged. A hospital bus was vandalised, windows were broken, and equipment was destroyed. Videos shared online also showed protesters pulling down the hospital’s signboard.
There were reports from eyewitnesses that gunshots were heard during the protest, and claims circulated that two students were killed.
But the police spokesperson, ASP Eitokpah Sunday Akata, denied the claims. He said no student was shot or killed.
According to him, officers only fired warning shots into the air using smoke guns to control the crowd as the protest became violent.
Security presence in the area was later increased, with police officers and soldiers deployed to maintain order and prevent further unrest.
Meanwhile, the Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Henry Egbe Ayuk, also reacted to the situation. He described claims that injured students were abandoned as false and misleading.
He explained that emergency response teams acted quickly after the accident. Medical workers at the General Hospital attended to the victims, while more personnel were called in to assist.
He added that due to the seriousness of some injuries, critically injured students were moved to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), which is better equipped to handle severe trauma cases.
Dr. Ayuk stressed that all deaths from the accident happened at the scene and not because of poor treatment at any hospital.
He also said that in emergencies like this, saving lives is always the top priority, not media updates, and that health officials were fully focused on helping the victims.