Musdpha Ilo, Maiduguri
Residents of Gwoza local government area in Borno State are worried that an epidemic of diseases might soon breakout in the community as corpses continue to litter some villages, following series of attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents.
A district head in one of the wards in Gwoza, Lawan John, lamented to journalists that none of the people of the area who had since fled the area could summon enough courage to return and bury their dead for fear that the terrorists may just be lurking around.
John, who himself is now seeking refuge in Maiduguri, said that “corpses still littered our villages because we didn’t have access to the villages as the insurgents were still hanging around.”
According to him, many residents of the community are trapped in the mountains and hills and have gone without food for over five days.
Another residents of the area who spoke anonymously said the corpses would have decomposed by now and there could be an epidemic if the whole area is not fumigated after the corpses are evacuated.
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“They (insurgents) kill our people and they won’t allow us to give them proper burial, their corpses are made to lie on the road which is not befitting of even a dead animal,” the resident lamented.
The senator representing Southern Borno district in the National Assembly, Mohammed Ali Ndume, who called for a stakeholders’ meeting, lamented that his people were made to go through untold hardship by recent attack as over 1,000 persons have been displaced.
Speaking on behalf of the stakeholders to journalists, Ndume said attacks on villages such as Gavva, Agapalagu, Chikide, Dushwale, Ngoshe and Ashigashiya, have continued unabated.
“We are here to salvage the condition of our people. As a quick solution, we have sought for military intervention in six wards in Gwoza East that are currently under siege and as I am speaking to you now, there is no military presence in these areas except in Pulka, but we have been pressing on the security agencies to salvage the situation,” he said.
According to the senator, the state government has released N10 million, including donation of funds from some members of the Gwoza communities, to be used to provide relief materials to displaced persons and a committee has been set up for this purpose.
Chairperson of the relief committee, who is also the Borno State sommissioner for Commerce and Industries, Asabe Vilita, said three camps had been opened for some of the displaced persons who are now taking refuge in Maiduguri.
According to her, 680 displaced persons were camped in Tashan Bama, 426 in EYN Church, Wulari and 50 persons in Mule Area of Maiduguri.
Vilita appealed to well-meaning individuals to come to the aid of the displaced persons.