Gov’t assists Menchum victims after attack by Nigerian herdsmen

From Michael Ndi in Bamenda

Some five months after some Nigerian herdsmen rained havoc on the inhabitants of Bawuru and four other villages of Menchum Valley sub division, government has at last eked out financial and material assistance to the victims of the raid.

On Tuesday, September 9, 2014, the governor of the North West region, Adolf Lele L’Afrique and his entourage were in Menchum to hand over the assistance to scores of the affected villagers and 27 families of those who were killed.

Handing over financial assistance worth 27MFCFA including school materials, food, blankets, mattresses and roofing sheets, Governor Lele L’Afrique enjoined the population of the five affected villages to accept a message of encouragement and condolence from the head of state, President Paul Biya. He equally called on the population to be vigilant especially as Bawuru shares a common boundary with neighbouring Nigeria.

While assuring the villagers that government is already taking measures to thwart further attacks, the governor instanced the presence of a detachment of Nkambe based military in Menchum Valley which has since the deployment continued to work round-the-clock to check any encroachment to that sub division and Menchum as a whole.

Beside the herdsmen’s attack, Adolf Lele L’Afrique entreated the Menchum Valley indigenes to beware of the presence of the deadly disease, Ebola, which although not yet in Cameroon is already in the neibouring Nigeria. He disclosed that in a bid to prevent the disease from extending its tentacles to Cameroon, government has already closed its borders with Nigeria.

The population was sensitized on the disease and cautioned to step up personal and environmental hygiene, avoid hand shaking and desist from consuming some animal species like monkeys, baboons, chimpanzees, bats among others. “Any person discovered with suspected Ebola symptoms should immediately be reported to the powers that be for immediate action,” the governor advised.

They were told that some of the symptoms of Ebola are vomiting of blood by the victims, blood oozing out of ears and eyes, weak joints, rashes and lost of appetite among others.

It should be recalled that the Nigerian herdsmen had attacked Menchum Valley villages in April 2014 when they brought in their cattle to resettle there. After putting on a stiff resistance, the herdsmen burnt and destroyed homes and other properties killing scores of people in 27 families in the process.