Ako Subdivision: Pregnant woman forced to give birth at home as soldiers restrict movement

A pregnant lady almost lost her life in Akwaja, a village in Ako Subdivision, Donga Mantung Division.

Locals blame the forces of law and order, accusing them of placing a restriction on persons moving out of the village, regardless of their motive. “Can you imagine that in Akwaja, a village in Ako Subdivision has been prohibited from taking patients to the hospital? Even pregnant women are not given a chance to go for a delivery,” local wonders aloud.

The military, our source says, “has blocked the road leading to Ako Town, while Fulani militias have also blocked the road that leads to Nkambe.

They say the villagers should arrest the separatists and hand over to them.” Noting that security forces are better placed to arrest separatist fighters, locals say the blockade has had farreaching negative consequences on their daily lives.

This, a local says, led to a pregnant woman “giving birth in a very precarious situation.” Not even her situation could attract pity from security forces that have put up the blockade. “It has been two weeks now. The road leading to Ako is barricaded. When the military sees anyone person from that village heading to Ako, you will be sent back. No matter the degree or condition you are going through, you will be sent back.

They said, they have declared war against that village,” he states. The lady in question has been taken to a neighbouring village, but the treatment she’s receiving remains sub-standard. Other women, he adds, are not so lucky and now “practice the traditional method of delivery.”

The military crackdown on Akwaja village has left fear in the hearts of many.“People hardly move on motorable roads for fear of the military,” a source states. He adds that “if they catch you with an android phone, they will search and take it away.” Though Donga Mantung Division has remained one of the most peaceful in the wake of the violence in the Anglophone regions for close to four years, incidents such as the Ngarbuh Massacre and the blockade on Akwaja have often left civilians bearing the consequences of the violence.