Boko Haram: Epidemic Outbreak Looms In Borno
SAN FRANCISCO, June 08, (THEWILL) â€' An alarm has been raised about a looming epidemic outbreak in Borno State over the decaying remains of victims of recent Boko Haram attacks still lying in the open in some parts of the state. The alarm was raised Sunday by the district head of one of the wards under Boko Haram siege, Lawan John, who is now seeking refuge in Maiduguri.
The village head, who spoke with journalists on the ordeal of his people, after a meeting of stakeholders of affected areas in Gwoza Local Government of the state held in Maiduguri, said 109 persons had so far been buried since the attacks.
'Corpses still littered our villages because we didn't have access to the villages as the insurgents were still hanging around,' he said, lamenting that none of the people of the area who had since fled could summon enough confidence to go back and bury some of the dead bodies still lying in the open.
John said many of the villagers were still trapped in the mountains and hills without food to eat for over five days.
'They rely on people from Pogu village who go there to give them food, and right now there is no food left in the village,' he said, adding that in some of the villages, the Boko Haram gunmen were still on rampage, shooting anybody who attempted to descend from the mountain.
In the same vein, another residents of the area who craved anonymity said the littering remains of the victims of the recent attacks would have decomposed and there could be epidemic if the whole area is not fumigated .
'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,' he said.
Not fewer than 1,000 persons were displaced within the last one week following the Boko Haram attacks on villages in Gwoza Local Government Area. The member, representing Southern Borno district in the National Assembly, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, who called the meeting of the stakeholders of the area in Maiduguri, lamented that his people had been made to go through untold hardship by recent attack as over 1,000 persons were displaced and several properties lost.
Ndume disclosed that the killings and burning of property were still continuing in some of the villages, including Gavva, Agapalagu, Chikide, Dushwale, Ngoshe and Ashigashiya.
'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.
Ndume said the people had set up a committee to distribute relief materials to the displaced people as he called on well-meaning individuals and groups from Gwoza to assist the displaced people with food and funds.
He disclosed that the state government had released N10 million, including donation of funds from some members of the Gwoza communities, adding that once the areas under siege were accessible, the funds will be used for the procurement of relief materials for the displaced persons who did not make it to Maiduguri.
Also speaking at the occasion, chairperson of the relief committee, who is also the state Commissioner for Commerce and Industries, Dr. Asabe Vilita, said three camps had been opened for some of thedisplaced persons, who were in Maiduguri.
She added that 680 displaced persons were camped in Tashan Bama, 426 in EYN Church, Wulari and 50 persons in Mule Area of Maiduguri even as she also appealed to well-meaning individuals to come to the aid of the displaced people of the area.