The Ambulance, one of the properties destroyed during the Monday protest by the UNICROSS students.
By Nsa Gill
The University community at the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS) suffered a tragedy and was thrown into mourning since Friday, May 1st, when a fatal accident took the lives of three students and the driver of the bus that carried over twenty of them.
Besides the four reported dead, scores of others were hospitalized. The accident occurred along the Odukpani-Itu highway as they were returning to Calabar after a friendly football match played at the University of Uyo in Akwa Ibom State.
The Vice Chancellor of UNICROSS, Prof. Francisca Bassey, notified the Cross River State Government about the accident outside the state capital on the same day it occurred. After receiving the call, the Deputy Governor instantly sent a convoy of vehicles to the scene.
Before the arrival of the team from the state government, reports indicated that earlier responders near the scene of the accident, including a team from the Federal Road Safety Commission, were able to lift the critically injured, including those who died instantly at the accident scene, and they drove all the way down to Calabar.
The Government team, including some security personnel, the Special Adviser on General Duties and the Special Assistant for Students, met with the Vice Chancellor of the university, and they were able to go around the different hospitals where the victims were taken.
The Government immediately pledged to take over the hospital bills, and the governor, who was not in town, issued a condolence letter while mandating the health commissioner to ensure immediate and adequate attention was given to the victims in any facility where they were receiving treatment.
However, on the morning of May 4th, three days after the sad incident, some students and their leaders decided to organize a candlelight procession away from the school premises and into the state capital. They marched specifically to the Calabar General Hospital with a mindset following a widespread allegation that the victims taken to the hospital from the accident scene were neglected and not promptly attended to.
The outcome of the candlelight procession cum protest at the Calabar General Hospital recorded another sad incident as the students took the law into their own hands, going on a rampage and destroying facilities in the hospital. This was the same hospital that the student leaders demanded the state government should adequately equip.
It is rather a double mourning for the government; after committing to clear the hospital bills of all the accident victims and ensuring that the driver and the company that owns the truck responsible for the accident with the students’ bus are brought to justice, the government now has to repair the General Hospital that did not cause the accident nor the deaths of any of the deceased.
According to the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Henry Egbe Ayuk, after an assessment tour of the damage done to the General Hospital, he clarified that injured victims brought to the General Hospital were promptly attended to, with critical cases referred to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) for specialized care.
“We responded immediately, coordinated with UCTH, and created space in the casualty unit to handle the victims,” he said.
The Commissioner stressed that no deaths were recorded at the General Hospital, attributing tensions to misinformation.
“No patient died in this hospital. The deaths occurred at the scene. It is unfortunate that misinformation escalated the situation,” he added.
While acknowledging the right to peaceful protest, Ayuk said the destruction of public property undermines healthcare delivery and assured that the government would address any gaps in emergency response. Also, a statement from the Office of the Deputy Governor of Cross River State maintained that public records must be accurate and corrected in the interest of truth, peace, and responsible dialogue.
The protesters first went to the General Hospital, then proceeded to Millennium Park, and later moved to the Governor’s Office. At Millennium Park, up to the Governor’s office vicinity, they blocked vehicular traffic for an extended period until they were persuaded to reopen the road. At one point during the protest, the situation became rowdy after the leadership structure among the protesters broke down, and some individuals began vandalizing government property. In response, the police used tear gas to disperse the crowd and restore order. No one was shot. This fact must be clearly stated to ensure that misinformation does not distort the facts or unnecessarily inflame public sentiment.
The statement maintained that while the concerns raised by the students about healthcare facilities in the state and the completion of the Calabar-Itu Road are duly noted, the government makes it clear that the temporary breakdown of law and order should not be unfairly attributed to the state government. The administration remains committed to addressing legitimate grievances through peaceful engagement.
Also speaking, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Nursing, Dr. Esu Coco-Bassey, condemned the incident, alleging that the protest was hijacked and fueled by misleading social media reports. “The accident happened along Odukpani Road, not in this hospital. Health workers attended to victims promptly, but unverified information triggered the protest,” he said.
A nurse in the casualty unit, Mr. Godwin Betiang, described how the situation became chaotic, forcing staff and patients to flee. “I saw a mob approaching, including a young man carrying what looked like a gun. We had to run for our lives,” he said. He added that the protesters invaded wards, damaged equipment, and disrupted care, with some patients affected in the confusion, while many others fled the hospital out of fear.
Meanwhile, a staff member of UNICROSS, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that the situation escalated after suspected cultists hijacked what was initially planned as a candlelight procession in honor of the deceased students. The protest scene and the vandalism at the General Hospital brought back sad memories of the ENDSARS protest in Calabar. Calabar was worst hit by the ENDSARS protest, and some structures and institutions in the state are yet to recover to this day. Structures such as Unical Hotel, Tinapa Lakeside Hotel, and the Nigerian Chronicle newspaper facilities are yet to recover from the ENDSARS protest of the year 2020.
The loss of life in a road accident remains saddening and mournful, but the vandalization of the General Hospital on allegations of negligence is unjustifiable and should be condemned. As it stands, the vandalization in the Calabar General Hospital included an ambulance, electrical installations, doors, windows, and ward equipment that were damaged. The impact on patients who were admitted to the hospital and the health workers on duty is unquantifiable. Wanton destruction of government property benefits no one. May the souls of the departed rest in peace, and may God Almighty grant solace to the families of the deceased.
