It was Black Tuesday as three students of Cross River State University died in an auto crash while they were travelling to their homes.
This followed a two-week closure of the institution to stop students from taking part in the hardship protest slated for August 1.
The students who boarded a bus, were on their way to Ogoja in the northern part of the state when the accident occurred on Tuesday afternoon.
It was gathered that the accident occurred near Ikom in the central part of the state, along the Calabar–Ikom highway.
An eyewitness, simply identified as Ndoma Akunobor, who was an occupant of the bus, said the three students who lost their lives were from the departments of Microbiology, Plants Science and Biotechnology.
The names of the students have not been ascertained at the time of filing this report.
The management of the university, in a circular, had ordered the closure of the institution for two weeks beginning from 30th July to 12th August, ahead of the nationwide protest slated to commence on 1st August.
Â