By Emmanuel Nduka
At least five persons have been killed, while an unconfirmed number of others sustained various degrees of injuries in an accident during a bikers’ carnival in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
The Bikers/Exotic Cars Parade is part of the events leading to the popular Calabar Carnival which takes shape at the end of every year.
The sad incident was said to have occurred on Tuesday after an unregistered vehicle that took part in the event lost control and rammed into spectators at the Bogobiri axis of the carnival route.
The victims were rushed to the Navy Reference Hospital in Calabar, leading to the abrupt end of the event.
Following the unfortunate incident, some aggrieved residents of the Bogobiri community were involved in a fracas, forcing law enforcement agencies to use tear gas to disperse the angry crowd.
Some eyewitnesses blamed the accident on poor crowd control.
The State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, expressed sadness over the incident.
Speaking via a statement by his media aide, Christian Ita, Ayade said he is devastated by the development. He equally directed security agencies to arrest the motorist who is on the run.
While sympathising with the victims of the accident and their families, the governor ordered an immediate investigation to unravel how the motorist was able to get through security barricades to have access to the routes which were closed to the public.
He subsequently directed the immediate discontinuation of the Bikers’ parade in honour of the victims.
