Governor Ben Ayade has ordered an immediate and thorough investigation into the accident that claimed scores of lifes and left many injured in Calabar, the state capital.
This is also as the Federal Road Safety Corps has confirmed seven persons dead and 29 injured in an incident that occurred during the annual Calabar Carnival on Tuesday.
The Sector Commander of the Corps, Maikano Hassan, made this disclosure while addressing members of the press on Tuesday.
He said the incident occurred in front of the Jumat Mosque in Bogobiri in the capital city of Cross River during the bikers’ parade of the carnival.
Hassan listed the number of injured to include 21 male adults, three women, two male children and three female children.
Giving details of how the accident occurred, Hassan blamed the incident on an errant motorist who allegedly ploughed into a crowd that thronged the carnival route to watch the bikers’ parade.
Speaking further, Hassan said that the injured were immediately rushed to the Naval hospital and the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital for medical attention.
He said that the remains of the dead had been deposited in two hospitals in Calabar.
Reacting also, Ayade who was present at the carnival expressed sadness over the incident, sympathising with the victims of the accident and their families.
The governor in the statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Christian Ita, also directed security agencies to apprehend the motorist who was on the run.
He also directed the immediate discontinuation of the bikers parade in honour of the victims of the accident, promising to ensure the culprit is arrested and brought to book.
