Tragic Tuesday As Bikers’ Parade Claims 10 Lives In Calabar
- Unmarked vehicle rams into crowd injuring many
- Gov Ayade expresses sadness over the incident
BY UBON EKANEM, CALABAR – A yet-to-be-identified driver on Tuesday left a sour taste in the mouth of many and painted the popular Calabar bikers’ parade black by ramming into the crowd of fun seekers who lined the 2023 Carnival route to watch the annual tourism festival.
Less than an hour after the parade of bikers/exotic cars flagged off as part of the events leading to this year’s Calabar Carnival slated for Wednesday, 28th December, the tragedy struck leaving about 10 persons, most of them teenagers, feared dead with an unconfirmed number sustaining various degrees of injuries in the unfortunate incident.
According to our correspondent, an unregistered exotic vehicle that purportedly participated in the parade suddenly lost control and rammed into spectators at the Bogobiri axis of the carnival route, inhabited mainly by people of the Hausa/Fulani extraction.
The incident, which happened around 4 pm along Mary Slessor Avenue sparked spontaneous reactions as the crowd scampered for safety with most of the victims being trampled upon in the fracas.
In the ensuing confusion, the unknown driver took to his heels to escape being lynched, abandoning his Toyota Camry car, popularly called “Big for Nothing”.
As the sad news spread to the popular Watt market and Etim Edem Motor park nearby, most people abandoned their wares and shops, rushing to the scene of the incident to catch a glimpse of the happenings. This development resulted in a spontaneous breakdown of law and order around the vicinity.
It was indeed a hectic time for security agents to bring the incident under control with some canisters of teargas emptied on the surging crowd even as competent sources confirmed that some unlucky onlookers were hit by stray bullets fired by the police in their attempt to disperse the unruly crowd.
An eye-witness account indicated that the car must have suddenly malfunctioned due to break failure and as the security personnel battled to keep the unruly crowd in check, the event was brought to an abrupt end.
As of the time of filling the report, the identity of the driver was still unknown same as those who lost their lives or were injured in the incident. But most of the injured were rushed to the Navy Reference Hospital, Calabar for immediate medical attention.
To avoid any further untoward situation, the car involved in the accident was later removed from the scene by security operatives to the nearby Watt Market police station
Ayade Unhappy, Cancels Parade Over Incident
Meanwhile, Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has expressed sadness over the ugly incident where an errant motorist ran into a crowd that thronged the Carnival route to watch the bikers’ parade.
A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Chief Press Secretary, Barrister Christian Ita said Governor Ayade is devasted by the incident and has directed security agencies to apprehend the motorist who is currently on the run.
The statement said Governor Ayade, who sympathised with the victims of the accident and their families, has ordered an immediate investigation to unravel circumstances surrounding the motorist’s breach of security barricades to access the routes which were closed to the public traffic.
According to the Media aide, the Governor has further directed the immediate discontinuation of the Bikers parade in honour of the accident’s victims.
Governor Ayade while promising to ensure the culprit is arrested and brought to book, however, sued for calm among the populace.
