Festus Onwe, 16, is a victim of the recent inter-communal conflicts in Cross River and Ebonyi states.
On one hand, there is a boundary dispute between the people of Enyigba in Abakaliki Local Government Area and their neighbours in Enyibuchiri in Ikwo Local Government Area. And on the other hand, there is an ongoing dispute between the people of Igbeagu and Ukele in Izzi and Ukele local government areas
The victim
Many lives have been lost in the conflict since 2003 with more than 10 persons said to have lost their lives in the recent clash that occurred between the warring communities in June 2018. During the clash, many houses were burnt down in the affected communities.
But since the last clash over boundaries in the affected communities in June and the violence that followed, Onwe, who hails from Ndiegbe village in Abakaliki Local Government Area, Ebonyi State, has been looking for his mother.
After losing his father some years ago, all Onwe had left were his mother and sibling. He however lost connection with his mother and sibling after inter-communal crisis forced him to leave his family home in Ndiegbe village.
According to him, he lived in the bush for a while before moving to Abakaliki, where he came into contact with some social welfare workers.
He said, “I have not seen my mother since the day we escaped from our village. In the confusion, I heard her shouting, ‘Is this how I would lose my children?’ I don’t know if
she has been killed or if she is still alive.
“My parents had asked me to live with an Izzi man. It was while I was there that a clash broke out and they returned me to my family in Ndiegbe.
“Then there was another outbreak of crisis between the people of Ikwo and Izzi. We left Ikwo to Igbeagu in Izzi Local Government Area.
“During the crisis in Izzi, I heard my mother crying and shouting. I have not seen my mother since that day. We escaped through the window and ran to a place called Ugwuachara. When we got there, we told the people there what had happened.
“After some time, we heard that someone was coming with gun. I am not sure if that person was from Cross River or Izzi. It was at that point that my 18-year-old sister left me and ran away.
“When I was trying to escape, I saw two persons whose hands and legs were tied together. I saw another old woman there crying; I was able to dodge to prevent being caught by the assailants. Then I ran away and that night, I slept in the bush. The following day, I started trekking and came out at Nwezenyi. I met someone there and begged him to allow me to join him in his car. He dropped me at Spera-In-Deo Flyover.
“I was helpless there. It was while I was there crying that a Good Samaritan saw me and bought food and fruits for me. He later handed me over to one Mrs. Roseline Igbokwe, who took me to Abakaliki Local Government Area secretariat.
“I was later taken to my village, but when we got there, I could not find my father’s compound again.”
A social welfare officer at the local government secretariat, Ajah Ikenna, told our correspondent that efforts made to locate Onwe’s relations had been unsuccessful so far.
He said Onwe’s parents’ house might have been demolished during the crisis.
“We went to Onunweduoga, but he was unable to identify where he was living. He mentioned some places which were real. Those places he mentioned are in existence and those were the places we took him to. Through the assistance of the development union there, we were able to identify some places.
“But you know that place was in crisis, so not everybody was around. But the people we met there could not identify him. But I can’t say if it was the crisis that consumed his parents.
“But going by his narrative, when the crisis started between Enyigba and Ikwo, he ran with the sisters to Igbeagu. They stayed there until another crisis started between Igbeagu and Cross River State communities. That was when they lost contact and he found himself in Abakaliki,” he said.
