Neuropsychiatric hospital Calabar : Mgt distances self from allegation of sponsoring thugs against protesters
…says 2020 END-SARS trauma inforned tight security measures
The Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar, has fired back at a viral report accusing its Acting Medical Director of unleashing thugs on protesters, insisting the entire narrative is a fabrication designed to smear its leadership over a disputed job appointment.
In a strongly worded statement issued Tuesday, the hospital’s Public Relations Unit dismissed a publication on Newsweek NG which alleged that Comrade Castro Ezama, a former aide to ex-Governor Ben Ayade, was assaulted by hired thugs during a protest linked to the recruitment of a substantive Medical Director.
Management said it had received intelligence ahead of Friday’s protest and had already alerted the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services before the demonstrators numbering about eight arrived at the hospital gate.
Security operatives, it said, were on ground before the protest began and stayed on for hours afterward.
Neither the Acting Medical Director nor any member of Management invited, mobilised, sponsored, sent, or authorised any person or group to confront or attack the protesters,” the statement declared
“Staff had been instructed in advance to “remain calm, exercise restraint, and avoid any form of confrontation or violence,” They stated.
The hospital linked its heightened security posture to bitter memories of the 2020 EndSARS crisis, during which the facility was looted and staff members injured , a trauma it says shaped Friday’s swift, coordinated response.
According to Management, the protest itself lasted under ten minutes and ended without any protester being harmed.
On the disputed appointment at the centre of the tension, the hospital clarified that the interview for the substantive Medical Director position was conducted in Abuja on June 11 by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare not by the hospital itself and that no official result has yet been released.
Management urged aggrieved parties to channel their frustrations to the Ministry rather than the hospital, warning that protests at a psychiatric facility risk disrupting care for vulnerable patients.
The Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies have been notified of the allegation, with Management saying it welcomes an independent probe into the matter.
It expressed gratitude to the Cross River State Governor for support and pledged continued collaboration with the state government to advance healthcare in the state.
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