A man who abandoned his wife in the village and escaped with two kids told our correspondent from his hideout that he trekked all through the day and night backing one of his kids and carrying the other on his shoulder through the forest to neighboring Tebideba, but that they were denied stay by the people for fear that soldiers may also invade their community.
Hundreds of women and children of Okuama community, Ewu Kingdom, in Ughelli South Local Government Area, Delta State, who fled for their dear lives when troops of the Nigerian Army started flattening the community over the killing of 16 soldiers last Friday have been stranded for six days without food in the forests.
This is even as a young man from one of the warring communities, suspected to be a militant, dared the Federal Government to declare him wanted in a viral video yesterday, saying the soldiers were killed because they allowed commanding persons to use them to oppress the people of Okuama.
At the coastal town of Igbomotoru in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, the siege imposed by troops on the manhunt for a militant leader suspected to have masterminded the killings is pushing the community towards starvation. It could trigger a humanitarian crisis if it persisted.
Some days ago, the Okuama women cried out that they fled into the forests when soldiers allegedly opened fire on the villagers in the town hall after the community refused their attempt to take away the community leaders.
As of yesterday, Okuama is out of bounds as only the military could enter in and out of the town. The place is deserted, the state governor, Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori confirmed he could not visit the place because of the situation.
Vanguard learned that the neighboring communities to the abandoned Okuama refused to accept the fleeing residents as refugees in their homelands because of the persecution by soldiers, who come around searching for the perpetrators of the heinous crime.
Because of how they escaped into the forests, the women could not take food items with them, and they could not return to the community either, as soldiers had taken over the town.
One indigene of a bordering community in the Ewu Kingdom said the situation of the victims of the military onslaught on culprits of the Okuama killings was pitiable.
“Hunger is taking a toll on them, especially the children they are carrying. This is a humanitarian crisis, and the government has to open a refugee camp for these people and provide them with food.
“Soldiers molest innocent people in neighboring communities of Okuama in Ughelli South Local Government Area. As I am speaking with you, soldiers are still in the Orere community in the Ewu kingdom, molesting innocent people in the search for perpetrators.
“The fact is that neighboring communities of Okuama in the Ewu Kingdom are not receiving fleeing indigenes of Okuama, who are mostly women and children, for fear of harassment and molestation by the military.
“As we speak, neighboring communities are living in fear because the military has set up drones watching over all communities”.
A resident of the Orere community said that people in neighboring communities have had sleepless nights over the presence of soldiers in their domains.
“We are having sleepless nights over what happened at Okuama because the military is after the perpetrators fleeing from the scene of the incident. To be candid, nobody is happy over what happened to the soldiers at Okuama.
“But, the issue has degenerated, and we are all affected. They would come to your community, brutalizing innocent people over their onslaught of fleeing perpetrators.
“I want to use this medium to call on the federal government to consider setting up refugee camps for women and children displaced from the Okuama community, which nobody wants to accommodate because of the fear of the rampaging soldiers in neighboring communities.
“This is a clarion call on the Federal Government to save these victims. The government should set up Internally Displaced Persons, IDP, camps to accommodate these vulnerable victims so they can be identified and avoid the harassment of neighboring communities.
“I want to conclude by saying that nobody supports the killing of soldiers at Okuama, and the federal government should do something to save these innocent victims”.
Some concerned indigenes of Igbomotuoru, who spoke to Vanguard, called on the relevant authorities to prevail on the troops to relax restrictions on free movement in and out of the community to allow the people to pick up the pieces of their lives.
Igbomotoru has been under military lockdown since last Sunday by troops in pursuit of militants allegedly behind the killing of some soldiers in Okuama, Ughelli South local government area of Delta State.
Many lives were reportedly lost during the Sunday morning invasion of Igbomotoru, with houses used by the militants razed.
According to local sources, the usually lively community is now a show of its old self; shops are shut down, and many of the natives who fled their homes are still taking refuge in the forest, while some relocated to other communities before the present lockdown in the area.
People cannot come into the community with goods and foodstuffs, and those trapped cannot leave the area.
It was, however, learned that the few persons in the community, especially the old, who could not run away are being denied access to their farms and fishing traps, a development informed sources said could trigger famine, as the people are facing hunger caused by restriction in movement.
Many are disturbed that five days after the invasion, no government official has visited the area to sympathize with the people or send relief materials to ameliorate their sufferings.
Access to food and water in the area is diminishing due to the military blockade, a source lamented, noting that the people may be compelled to source water from the polluted river.
“If two sachets of water are being sold for N50 in Yenagoa, you can imagine what it will cost at Igbomotoru where people are not allowed in and out. You can imagine what the local people are going through,” our source added.
A man who abandoned his wife in the village and escaped with two kids told our correspondent from his hideout that he trekked all through the day and night backing one of his kids and carrying the other on his shoulder through the forest to neighboring Tebideba, but that they were denied stay by the people for fear that soldiers may also invade their community.
“I trekked for one and half days through the thick of the forest, running away from the invading soldiers with one child strapped on my back and another lifted on my shoulder. I left my wife behind in that moment of confusion.
“When we got to Tebideba, I thought relief had come, but we were denied a stay by the people who said they did not want to have an issue with the military. Understating their fear, given the tense situation in the area, we had to return to the forest and continue our search for succor until we saw somebody paddling a canoe and pleading for assistance.