By Frank Ulom
The management of 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 on Tuesday, the hospital’s Public Relations Unit dismissed an online publication 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.
The management said it had received intelligence ahead of last Friday’s protest and had already alerted the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) 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.
Adding, “Staff had been instructed in advance to remain calm, exercise restraint, and avoid any form of confrontation or violence.”
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 and coordinated response.
According to the 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, and not by the hospital itself, stressing that no official result has been released yet.
The management further 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 the hospital 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.