At least 14 persons are feared dead due to poor organisation by the band management, which has marred the 2022 Calabar Carnival Bikers Event.
The tragic incident occurred on Tuesday, during the day five activities of the annual Calabar Carnival.
Barely twenty minutes after the ‘Bikers Carnival” was flagged off at the Eleven Eleven Roundabout in Calabar, some vehicles rammed into onlookers at the Bogobiri Junction, in front of the Central Mosque.
The carnival was brought to an abrupt end after scores were killed on the spot and residents around the area, which is a Hausa settlement, were prevented from taking to the streets by men of the Police Anti-cultism Squad.
The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Cross River, Maikano Hassan, who confirmed the incident, said it occurred when a driver of a Camry car lost control and rammed into a crowd of onlookers.
Hassan, who could not give the figure of casualty, said that the victims of the incident have been all evacuated to the hospital.
“I am on my way to the hospital to ascertain the figure of deaths and those injured.
“But I can confirm that the reports are true and will get back to you as soon as I can and will get back to you as soon as I am able to establish the number of casualties.”
An eyewitness account, however, put the figure of deaths at no fewer than 20.
Following the tragic incident, traders and other service providers around the axis quickly closed shops including Etim Edem Park and the area has suddenly become a ghost of its former self.
The Calabar Carnival is a brainchild of Donald Duke, a former governor of the state.
It suffered a two-year hiatus following the dreaded coronavirus pandemic outbreak.
The state governor, Professor Ben Ayade, promised to make this year’s event, which happens to be his last as governor, the best-ever carnival organised in the state.
