There are indications that, after a week of the occupation of the Belegete borderline community next to Cameroon by separatist rebels called Ambazonia fighters, Nigerian troops cannot access the difficult topography of Belegete to save Nigerians who were being raped, wounded, killed and abducted.
The soldiers are said to have rather stopped at the nearby Obudu Mountain Resort, where they have camped for the past two days.
The authorities are said to be thinking about using helicopters to drop the soldiers with the aid of parachutes, according to sources close to the army.
Meanwhile, a House of Representatives member representing Obanliku/Bekwarra/Obudu Federal Constituency, Peter Akpanke, has decried the long delay in any response to his people.
“On December 5, 2023, the clan head of Belegete, Chief Francis Ogweshi, and 30 other natives were kidnapped by 5h4 Ambazonia rebels after they had held the entire community for over 24 hours without any help from the government of Nigeria.
He has expressed sadness that they shot and beat up his people without any help from any federal security agencies.
In a statement, he also decried the continual occupation by the renegade armed separatists of his community with impunity.
Akpanke described the attack as “horific,” which he said has “left him in bitterness, sadness, and disappointment.”
He has pleaded that the federal government immediately intervene to save his people.
“I call on the Federal Government of Nigeria, as a matter of urgency, to intervene by ordering relevant security agencies to mount posts across the border communities to forestall more pains being inflicted on the peaceful Belegete community.”
Akpanke said: “I stand before you today with a heavy heart, filled with profound anger, bitterness, sadness, and disappointment.
“On December 5, 2023, our peaceful community of Belegete was subjected to a horrific attack by suspected Ambazonian militants from the Republic of Cameroon.
“These barbaric individuals held our people hostage for over 24 hours, inflicting pain and suffering through gun violence, physical assault, and the destruction of properties worth millions of Naira.
“As some of you may be aware, my parents, siblings, and children of the Belegete extraction witnessed the saddest day of our existence recently when armed separatists from the Republic of The Cameroons, who have been named Ambazonians, attacked the sleepy and peaceful community of Belegete.
“Belegete community is a Nigerian border village between Nigeria and Cameroon within the edges of the Obanliku plateau in the hinterland of the Obudu Mountain Resort.”
