Police Deny Shooting Students During UNICROSS Protest in Calabar

The Cross River State Command of the Nigeria Police Force has denied reports of a gunfire exchange with students during a protest in Calabar on Monday morning.

The protest, led by students of the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS), followed a fatal motor accident over the weekend that claimed the lives of four students.

The victims were reportedly returning from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, when their vehicle was involved in a head-on collision with a truck along the Odukpani axis of the Calabar-Itu federal highway.

Six other students who sustained injuries were rescued by operatives of the police and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and taken to medical facilities, including the General Hospital, Calabar.

However, protesting students alleged that their injured colleagues were not receiving adequate medical attention or welfare support at the hospital, prompting them to stage a demonstration.

The protesters reportedly stormed the General Hospital on Mary Slessor Road, damaging a hospital bus, smashing glass structures, and vandalising equipment. A video circulating online also showed the destruction of the hospital’s signpost.

Eyewitnesses claimed that the protest turned violent, with some alleging that security operatives opened fire, resulting in casualties.

Reacting, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP Eitokpah Sunday Akata, dismissed the claims, insisting that no student was killed during the protest.

“None of the protesters was gunned down. Smoke guns were fired into the air to disperse protesters who were becoming violent,” he said.

Security was subsequently reinforced in parts of the city, with personnel of the Nigerian Army’s 13 Brigade and mobile police officers deployed to maintain order and prevent the situation from escalating.

Meanwhile, the Cross River State Commissioner for Health, Henry Egbe Ayuk, refuted allegations that the injured students were abandoned.

In a statement, Ayuk described such claims as misleading and inflammatory, noting that emergency response to the incident was swift and coordinated.

“Upon arrival of the victims at General Hospital Calabar, available medical personnel were mobilised, while efforts were made to contact additional healthcare professionals,” he said.

He added that due to the severity of some injuries, FRSC officials transferred critically injured victims to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital for advanced care.

The commissioner emphasised that all fatalities occurred at the scene of the accident and not as a result of delayed or inadequate medical attention.

Authorities said efforts were ongoing to stabilise the injured and maintain calm, while warning against the spread of misinformation capable of inciting public unrest.