At least 800 persons in a small town in Cross River state, here in Nigeria are currently running from the guns and machetes of Cameroonian rebels but they are stuck with a killer cold weather in Obudu.
Sarah Ayeku caught up with them at the Obudu cattle ranch in Obanliku local government, where a makeshift shelter offers little or no comfort.
Along the borderlines of Nigeria are communities sharing almost everything with Cameroon, most of these communities are almost unnoticeable on the map when you look closely, you discover hundreds of them from Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Benue and Cross River state.
It’s now more than three months since separatist rebels of the Ambazonia Defence Forces (ADF) in the southwest and northwest regions of Cameroon invaded Belegete, a border community in Cross River.
The community is still shadowed by threats and incessant attacks from the Ambazonians, no one wants to go down the hill, for those who are courageous to go back to farm, they sleep in bushes until they have the strength to come back to the ranch for protection.
TVC NEWS obtained pictures and videos showing burnt houses, schools and an abandoned community.
It wasn’t the first time the separatists would visit, but on the fifth of December, 2023, they came with their guns and machetes.
The attack in December, 2023 left at least 2 persons dead, according to the locals some others are still missing. One of those killed is the abducted traditional leader, Chief Francis Ogweshi. Although the community has buried his body, they are waiting for the government to help them return to their homes and farmlands.
Outside the makeshift shelter, a fraction of those taking shelter here gather under this tree on the Obudu ranch, away from the posh resort, most of them clutching their babies, pacifying their children and waiting for any kind of help, for now what they need are food, mattresses, blankets, medicals and a chance to go back to place they once called home.
Caroline Egunu walked for six days hoping and praying she wouldn’t lose her pregnancy while running from the terrorists.
Although she made it safely to the ranch, her husband is missing, leaving her to care for six children including her one month old baby. She tells me her baby has been crying for sometime now, but she can’t go to the hospital for a diagnosis to check if she is sick or not.
The nursing mothers are holding on to their sick babies. At the closest health facility, there is no resident doctor or free medicines available.
For a large number of those displaced, there is no money to access healthcare, the little money they can make from the farms is spent on food.
Since December, one of the few persons that have identified with the people is a group known as who is who in Northern Cross River. They have embarked on projects aimed at making life less difficult for those displaced from Belegete.
Months after the attack on Belegete, no arrests have been made, and the displaced families are getting little or no help from the authorities, the state government insists the ministry of humanitarian affairs and the state emergency management agency is addressing the issues.
Back at the ranch, the only light shining in the distance is that of a motorcycle, the makeshift shelters are not connected to the power source on the ranch.
With many border communities in Cross River State undergoing attacks as a result of ongoing armed conflict in the southern part of Cameroon, there are fears if the Nigerian government fails to protect these vulnerable communities, the land and its people may be lost to the separatists.
