Residents of Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, have called on the Federal Government to increase budget allocation for health to facilitate isolation and proper medical care in all government hospitals in the country for all mentally unbalanced citizens.
The residents made the call, following a mayhem unleashed recently by one Simon Ugbala, who allegedly killed about six persons, including two of his children and wife; and left many people injured at Onyikwa Nkaleke in Ozibo community of Ebonyi Local Government Area in Ebonyi State.
Our correspondent gathered that the suspect, after killing his family members within sight with a sharp machete, also killed two school children in a community school in the area while others fled for safety. The incident, which led to a state of confusion in the community, forced parents to hurriedly withdraw their children from schools for safety.
Some of the residents, Mr. Ikechukwu Awoke, Chief Christopher Nworie and Lady Dorothy Ezeh, who disclosed that the suspect had been mentally unbalanced for some years now, decried the poor healthcare delivery in the country and the negligence shown by the Federal Government to the detriment of the less privileged Nigerians, who could not afford medical care abroad.
According to them, mentally related health challenges should be funded by government at all levels and donor agencies, just like HIV/AIDS, Malaria, among others, to curb the menace caused by the mentally deranged in the
society.
They insisted that since mental challenge was, in some cases, capital intensive as in the case of Ugbala, affected families might not be able to foot the medical bills to ensure complete treatment, leading to abandonment to fate and maybe worsening of the situation with emergence of harsh climate conditions. They called for functional government-owned, well-equipped rehabilitation homes and prompt evacuation of suspected mad persons from the streets to avoid further occurrence.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Loveth Odah, confirmed the incident , saying the police was aware of the killing of seven persons by the suspect, including his wife and two children.
She said, “A councilor from Ebonyi local government, representing Onyikwa ward, Mr. Friday Nwigube, came to Kpirikpiri police station and reported that one Ugbala Simon of about 35 years, suspected to be insane, went about inflicting machete cuts on people.
“A combined team of detectives rushed to the village where they found several persons with deep machete cuts. They were rushed to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, where seven of the victims were confirmed dead by a medical doctor. Four others are still receiving treatment but in critical conditions. Police detectives and youths of the community are presently looking for the man.
“An insane person is no more one person’s business. When one person is suspected to be insane, the community should come together and take the person away from the community. I think they have a place to stay, which is the psychiatric hospital. It is a place where a suspected insane person is
treated.”
