Residents say authorities warned them not to say it was insurgents who gutted the clinic but rather to blame it on an electrical fault.
The only primary healthcare facility in the town of Mainok has been gutted by fire – but there is a dispute about how the fire started with residents saying insurgents set fire to the clinic and authorities claiming it was an electrical fault.
Residents in Mainok in the Kaga Local Government Area of Borno State said the facility was set alight on Monday, December 25.
Early reports said the facility was torched by insurgents belonging to either the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) or the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS); residents were unsure which insurgent group was responsible.
They said the fighters stole drugs and equipment from the clinic.
But the outcome of a meeting held by state officials on December 26 differed from the earlier reports. They claimed the fire was caused by an electrical fault and that the facility had not been set alight by gun-toting insurgents.
The local government chairman and the secretary were ordered to set the record straight, give it “proper perspective” and clarify the earlier “misinformation”.
Some residents of Mainok spoke to RNI on condition they would remain anonymous.
They were adamant that the facility was burnt down by insurgents but said they had been warned by authorities not to reveal it.
Five days after the fire, residents of Mainok said authorities had not organised the reconstruction of the facility and told RNI that they had no access to healthcare.
One resident said: “It’s been five days since the incident happened, but we have not seen anything done by the authorities to rebuild the clinic. We saw some government representatives coming here to take pictures of the burnt facility. We hope that means they will do something about providing another healthcare facility soon.”
Another resident told RNI that the clinic was the only healthcare facility in the area and that people from villages close to Mainok town relied on it for medical treatment.
“We now have no access to healthcare. Sick people are suffering. Some with severe medical conditions do not have money to travel to either Maiduguri, which is 57km away, or Benishek, the headquarters of the Kaga Local Government Area.
“The clinic was not only important for the people in Mainok, but also for people from villages nearby. I am worried about severely ill people and pregnant women, some of whom have had their babies at home. Access to healthcare is difficult and many of our people are suffering. We are appealing to the local authorities to intervene quickly.”
The resident said severely ill people were being taken to Benishek “and some even to Maiduguri”.
“Apart from the financial constraints that make it difficult for people to pay transport costs, there is also fear of attacks by armed men along the highways. Most women prefer to have their babies delivered at home, which can be risky.
“Reconstructing the healthcare facility is not enough. The government needs to provide maximum security in Mainok to protect essential facilities and the people of the town.”
Adamu Aliyu Ngulde
