Leaders and stakeholders in the Isoko area of Delta State are apprehensive over 50 persons suspected to be mentally ill abandoned in the area.
They were abandoned in strategic locations, especially along the Owhe-Oleh Roundabout-Ozoro Road on Wednesday.
Some of them ran into nearby farmlands but a combined effort by local vigilantes, residents and other security personnel led to the arrest of a significant number of the individuals, some of whom were taken into police custody for their safety and further investigation.
Adding to the apprehension, a similar incident occurred on the same date, November 13, at Koko Junction in Warri north local government area.
Community leaders and observers have raised alarms that these incidents might be part of a deliberate movement of individuals from the northern part of the country to the south, potentially linked to terrorist networks.
Reacting to the development, president of the Isoko National Youth Assembly (INYA), Comrade Eniwake Orogun, expressed his concerns over the incident.
“The news is not fake. In my own community, 17 of them were brought out from the forest and handed over to the police. In Oleh, they were dropped there; some of them are with the police.
“From the initial report, it was that 50 of them were dropped at Oleh/Ozoro Roundabout. We found out yesterday that 17 of them were caught in Emevor. It gives us the impression that they were more than that, but which other location they were dropped is what we are not sure of.
“Those that had interactions with them have serious doubts that they were mentally ill; they communicated like people with sound minds. It gives the impression that there are some undertones which the police are supposed to unravel.
“You understand the current insecurity in Nigeria – kidnapping, organ harvesting, the killings – so, when you have such a number of supposedly mentally unstable people around, it gives a different narrative altogether,” he said.
The chairman of the Delta State Environmental Taskforce, Godspower Asiuwhu, called for further investigation saying “I cannot speak on that now because I’m not even aware that people were dropped there.
“But it is wrong for anybody to go there and drop people that have mental disorders. I think it’s the duty of the two Isoko Council chairmen to take it up from there.”
Similarly, Isoko North local government chairman, Godwin Ogoruba, confirmed handing over the apprehended individuals to the police.
“The DPOs of Otor-Owhe and Oleh should be in a position to speak about that. That is the right thing to do. We don’t have to keep them or allow them to be roaming the communities terrorising our people. Causing mayhem on our people will not be tolerated,” he said.
Ogoruba also questioned the police’s dismissal of the reports saying, “How can you say it’s fake? Don’t you see the pictures everywhere? It’s all over the internet. When you go to social media, you’ll see the photos and videos there. So, something you are seeing live, how can you say it’s fake?”
Former President-General of Ozoro Kingdom, Akpoili Miller, stressed the need for immediate and thorough investigations.
“This is a serious issue that must be properly investigated and taken seriously. I was in Lagos when they called me from home to notify me of what was happening, that some insane people were dropped in Ozoro.
“But from what I gathered, they said the people are not really insane and with the security situation in the country, everyone is worried.”
Contrary to the community’s concerns, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Delta State Command, SP Edafe Bright, described the reports as “fake news.”
