By Samuel Ogenyi, Uyo
Conditions for more than 3,000 refugees displaced by rival cult clashes in Inen community , Oruk Anam local council of Akwa Ibom have worsened following a lack of intervention from the state government and donor agencies.
The refugees most of whom are resident at the Internal Displaced person camp at Ikot Ebritam and other locations in the local government headquarters in the State it was gathered are passing through untold hardship with basic amenities lacking in their different abode.
It was gathered that they have continued to feed themselves with little or no support from government or donor agencies with many of them taking the risk of venturing into nearby farmlands in search of food.
One of the refugees identified as Aniema Etuk reportedly left the IDP camp on Tuesday for the deserted village to bring food items from her farm to feed her children but was intercepted by the cultists who inflicted matchete cuts on her.
Narrating her experience , the victim now in an undisclosed hospital in Uyo said she was caught by cultists at Inen Junction and beaten up severally leaving her half dead before she left in the pool of her blood.
” On Monday my children were very hungry and were crying for food. I asked myself what I have done to deserve this kind of condition? Then moved to the village at about 10am to bring food items from my farm for my children.
“As I arrived Inen Junction close to my house, the cultists numbering 20 shouted me to stop. They came in group and slapped me one by one. Two of them brought out machete and cut my back , leg, hands and all parts of my body.
‘ I don’t know how my children are doing to survive in the church premises now. Here I need money for food and drugs and to pay for my medical bill here .” Etuk narrated.
The Public Relations Officer of Inen Stakeholders Forum Mr Anyanime Umoren said the only form of assistance recieved so far was from indigenes of the community in diaspora who contributed money to buy food items at the IDP camp.
He added that the chairman of the Forum.Barr Akpan Brown with other people bought some bags of garri and other foodstuffs to share for displaced persons in the camp but the items were grossly inadequate.
” We discovered that the food items could not go round for about 3,000 refugees in the camp including women and children . We decided to stop sharing to avoid uproar in the camp.”
” Right now we have levied our people so that we can raise money and buy more foodstuffs for the people. We are pleading with donor agencies and government to save this displaced persons from hunger and starvation while government is tackling the wave of cultism occasioned by killings and all forms of hostilities in the area.”
” The widow now in the hospital needs more than three million Naira for treatment and we don’t know how the money would be raised to save her lives. The children she left are now stranded in the camp . It is terrible situation. We need help.” He said.
Umoren urged the state government and the wife of the governor Mrs Martha Udom Emmanuel to visit the vulnerable women at the camp and extend helping hands to the needy.
In a telephone interview, State Police Public Relations Officer, Odiko Mcdon said the command is tackling cultism in the area as there is an on going special operations to bring pepetrators of the nefarious acts to book.
“There is a special operations in the area to fish out the cultists terrorizing the community.” Macdon said.
