There was chaos at the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS) on Monday as students staged a protest in Calabar over poor healthcare conditions, which they say contributed to the recent death of their colleagues.
hTree students and a staff member of
the institution died following a road accident on May 1.
The crash occurred when a coaster bus conveying them
collided with a truck along the Calabar–Itu highway in Odukpani LGA of the
state.
Onen Ebri, the university’s public relations officer (PRO),
who confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Saturday, said 24 students,
including the staff member, were involved.
Most of the victims were said to be members of the Students’
Union Government (SUG) returning from an official assignment in Uyo, the Akwa
Ibom state capital.
A viral video of the
protest circulating on Monday showed demonstrators dressed in black attire,
singing solidarity songs.
The students were seen protesting at a roundabout in
Calabar, displaying placards and banners with various inscriptions.
They later marched to
the General Hospital in Calabar, alleging that some of the accident victims
were rejected by the facility on the night of the incident.
According to Calabar Rants, a local blog on X that relays
happenings in the state, the protesters proceeded towards the governor’s
office, where security operatives reportedly dispersed them with teargas.
Another viral clip showed
officers from the police crime patrol response unit firing teargas from a
patrol van to disperse the protesters, who fled as smoke filled the air.
In the footage, four police patrol vans were stationed at a
T-junction reportedly within the vicinity of the governor’s office, while
students carried two
of their colleagues who appeared to have been affected by the smoke.
As of the time of filing this report, the state police
command was yet to issue an official statement on the protest.
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