Africa-Press – Nigeria. The commander of 13 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Calabar, Brig-General Muftau Ibrahim, has reassured Nigerians residing in the Nigeria-Cameroon border communities that they are ready to stop the illicit activities of the Ambazonian rebels, who sometimes infiltrate Nigerian territory to wreak havoc.
He spoke when the brigade conducted a medical outreach in Belegete community which the Ambazonia rebels occupied some months ago.
“In line with the Nigerian Army’s constitutional responsibilities of protecting lives and deterring violent aggression, troops of 13 Brigade conducted a series of operations along the Nigeria-Cameroon border.
“This is to check incursions into Nigerian territory; the Nigerian Army operations have successfully denied the rebels freedom of action, leading to an effective containment of the Ambazonia threat in Nigerian border communities in spite of its difficult topography,” he said.
Commending the army for remembering them, leader of Belegete community, Mr Simon Akor lamented over the inaccessibility of Belegete and other borderline communities with very difficult topography.
He disclosed that some pregnant women as well as sick people had been lost due to the non-accessibility of medical care occasioned by difficult terrain.
He said residents of the community have suffered seriously due to a lack of public facilities such as telecommunications, power, schools, health, and security.
“When a woman is pregnant or someone is sick, he or she is carried by the villagers to climb the hill and valleys through the forest to get to town, where you can find a health facility several hours away, most times, the patients die on the way.
“We are happy that for the first time the Nigerian Army came here with good drugs and professionals to take care of our health and know how we are doing, especially as the community had been attacked in the past by Ambazonians.
As a result of lack of professional health experts, pregnant women now depend wholly on Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA), according to Mrs Maria Olia, the women leader of the community.
From the famous Obudu Mountain Resort, it takes about eight hours on motorbike to meander and descend the tough mountainous terrain into Belegete community, which is deep inside the valley and surrounded by rivers.
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