Donga Mantung Division: Nwa elite succour suffering Mbat villagers after recent attacks.

In a bid to alleviate the sufferings of the Mbat villagers, the elite of the Subdivision, led by veteran journalist and President of the National Communication Council, NCC, Joseph Chebonkeng, initiated a fundraiser. 

Thanks to the Chebonkeng-led initiative, some urgent and immediate needs for the people of Mbat have been distributed recently. 

The humanitarian aid package worth millions of FCFA includes food items, clothes for men, women, and children, kitchen utensils, detergents, and sanitary pads.

Upon reception of the items, the President of the Mbat Cultural and Development Association, Sobe Pius, said the timely gesture of Nwa elite is highly applauded.

“We just want to send our special gratitude and thanks to everybody who has struggled to deep hands into their pockets to see how they can sustain the people of Mbat village. We just pray that this type of solidarity should continue amongst the elite of the Nwa Subdivision,” the community leader said. 

While expressing special gratitude to Joe Chebonkeng, he pledged that they will do their best to ensure that the gifts are faithfully channeled to the families concerned.

Very timid return to normalcy

More than 800 persons were reported to have been rendered homeless after a group of suspected Fulani militiamen stormed and wreaking havoc in Mbat village in the second week of February.

In a statement issued in the aftermath of the attacks, the Mbat Cultural and Development Association president had revealed that over 205 houses, alongside several other infrastructures, were burnt with properties inside as well as about 850 persons displaced from Mbat village.

Meanwhile, during the reception of the recent donation, the Mbat Cultural and Development Association president mentioned that villagers’ return to Mbat remains very timid.

“They are gradually coming back to Mbat Village, but the problem is that the people are still timid as this is the third time that incident is happening in Mbat village,” Sobe stated.

He then urged authorities to take measures to ensure that lasting security can be brought to not only Mbat Village but the entire Nwa Subdivision. 

Divisional Officer salutes gesture

Also present to officially receive the donation of the Nwa elite was the Divisional Officer of Nwa Subdivision, Esapa Jim Esapa.

The civil administrator appreciated the effort of the elite of Nwa Subdivision, who galvanised to bring emergency humanitarian relief to the victims of the barbaric attacks in Mbat village. 

“It's a very good gesture and I want to say kudos. From wherever they have tapped these resources, let it be replenished by God,” Esapa implored. 

He insisted that that the support comes at a crucial time as the displaced population are in dire need after their homes and properties were burned. 

While acknowledging that the support is not sufficient based on the number of people affected, he said the government is still putting things together to come to the aid of Mbat villagers.

“The people are still living in fear. Most of them, their houses were destroyed, and since their houses were destroyed, they have moved to nearby villages where they have been hosted. Some of them still run to their bush houses and come back, because they still have the fear that those who came and perpetrated that act, will still come again,” the DO said when asked about the current situation of the displaced villagers. 

Investigations still ongoing to apprehend perpetrators

According to Esapa, investigations are still being carried out to know and to bring to book the exact perpetrators of the February attacks on Mbat village.

“We are carrying out investigations and we want to say that the investigations are already on good footing,” he assured.

Rampant kidnappings in Subdivision

Further quizzed by journalists on rampant kidnappings in the Subdivision, the administrative authority condemned the recent scourge in the kidnappings and ransom takings in the Subdivision.

“It is something we have not witnessed for a long time and now it has become so rampant,” the Nwa DO admitted.

He then chastised the population for not reporting or collaborating with security forces to help quell the kidnapping upsurge, almost on a daily basis in the municipality.

“We know that kidnappings cannot take place in an area without the complicity of people of that area. So, our first investigations are to get those accomplices,” he said before adding that, “we have already tried to identify the people who are doing the kidnapping, but who are their accomplices in the villages?”

“They are not reporting, you only hear that they have kidnapped. Even some of these people who pay ransom, they don't come again to security forces to come and report to who they paid the ransom to,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the official reassured the population that the government is taking measures to protect them and called on them not to hide the identities of those they pay ransom to.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3743 of Friday March 27, 2026