BY SAH TERENCE
The name Batibo in the North West Region brings pain to the hearts of many families in the country. Be it the families of some top administrative officials kidnapped in the locality, or those of military personnel killed by Ambazonia secessionist fighters, or rather, those of the Ambazonia fighters themselves.
It can be stated with much conviction that Momo division in which Batibo is located is the Division with the most reinforced military arsenal in the North West region, though a very small division. This is due to the continuousattacks on military persons taking place in the area, on almost weekly basis. As a matter of fact, just within the week, there have been two attacks on military bases in Batibo.
The first was at the Gendarmerie security post in Batibo on Tuesday night at about 8:00PM, that led to some fierce gun shooting for a couple of minutes. Reliable sources hinted that no casualties were recorded and that the military alertness scared the attackers away.
The second was in Ambo located some 5 kilometers from Batibo on Wednesday morning at about 10am that led to the death of one secessionist fighter, leaving one gendarme seriously injured. This incident caused the inhabitants of Ambo and Efah to run into the bushes for safety as there were uncertain what their fate will be in case of a military intervention. Cars travelling to Efah and Ambo in the place of banned motor bikes immediately tilted their routes towards Enyoh, Kugwe, Bessom, Guzang and other villages far from the incidence zone.
Social Media exaggeration
Though it is true that there are attacks on military persons in Batibo, the huge deaths reported by social media are however not true. In many cases, it is just an attempted attack that does not even leave a military person injured, talk less of dead. Social media reports claim of the non existence of normal life in Batibo whereas it is false, but for the fact that many people have fled the area to safer zones.
Talking with the interim Divisional Officer for Batibo, Kwandie Ernest Kari, he admitted that there have actually been frequent attacks on military persons and threats to many people from unknown men, but debunked the exaggerated social media reports claiming hundreds of soldiers have been murdered in Batibo.
The happenings have placed the administration on total alert as they have to monitor every activity on the ground and report to hierarchy in due time. Indeed, while The SUN was at the Interim D.Os office, he received over ten calls believed to be from hierarchy, all in relation to the situation on the ground. He admitted that Facebook has made it so possible for false information to leave Batibo to very far places without even getting to the notice of the people in the same locality.
In order to feed hierarchy with the right information, the D.O is on phone always, calling the various military stations within his sub division to know what is on the ground.
He said it is a very complex situation because you do not know who the enemy is and that it is even possible that you dine and wine with them but when they turn against you, they treat you like they have never known you. For that reason everyone is a suspect and all necessary security measures must be taken to ensure the safety of the life and property of persons.
He believes it is a psychological battle that needs to be fought from all fronts and by careful actions because it involves radical youths that have either been influenced by some people, or situations. He also added that they are not bad boys and can be changed psychologically.
It is worth noting that when Minister AtangaNji Paul visited Batibo and handed peace plants to youths, he appealed to them that if there be any of them that joined to Amba fighters knowingly or unknowingly and wishes to quit, that he could bring his weapons and surrender and be sure that the State will not persecute him. However, the veracity of this statement will only be known when one dares to take such a risk of turning himself in.