In the Ikot Eyo Edem community of Bakassi Local Government Area in Cross River State, internally displaced people claim that locals have invaded their camp.
They said that they are left without any relief measures or financial aid from governments, organisations, or foreign donor agencies.
They bemoaned the appalling conditions in the camp, warning that if nothing is done, it might spark an epidemic in a Save our Soul letter to the Federal Government, which was signed by Chief Etim Okon Ene, the head of the IDP camp in Bakassi.
Ene added that their situation deteriorated as a result of a recent security agency raid on the camp in pursuit of potential militants and kidnappers.
The operators, according to him, said that the suspects had converted their camp into a haven for illegal activity.
He charged that the locals had unfairly profited from the EndSARS demonstration by removing their goods.
Ene reported that their host community supposedly came up with ways to make their stay unpleasant due to their steadfast attitude towards the palliatives sharing formula.
We are very careful about our behaviour so as not to arouse the host community’s fury as a people whose main source of income is farming since we no longer have access to the sea for fishing.
However, he added, “our experience has demonstrated that the host community is not happy with the attention that our plight has drawn from donor agencies.”
To help them become independent, they pleaded with the federal government to donate farming equipment.
Additionally, the IDPs want the government to contribute to bolstering security in the camp, including the installation of solar-powered street lights, security stations, and monitoring.
