Uyo residents worry over influx of lunatics

Residents of Uyo, Akwa Ibom capital, are worried over the growing number of mentally unstable people on major streets of the city.

Many of those spoken to by Niger Delta Trust said they have observed of recent the presence of such people on the major streets of the city which is making them uncomfortable.

They said while many of them are not violent, but some were and constituted a danger to the safety of the residents.

Niger Delta Trust reports that many of the mentally unstable people are found on major streets, especially in crowded areas and at traffic junctions.

They said some of the violent ones harass unsuspecting passers-by thereby causing panic among the residents, adding that they sometimes attacked drivers smashing windscreens.

Investigation revealed that most of them are from neighbouring states, said to have been brought in at night into the state capital and some other towns.

Narrating his encounter, Mr God’stime Billy, said the screen of his car was once smashed by a mad man while he was driving along Idoro Road

“As I was driving, I noticed a mentally deranged man in front of me. He picked up a large stone and threw it directly at me and smashed the windscreen.

“After assessing the level of damage, I just drove on and thanked God that the stone did not hit me directly,’’ he said. 

Speaking on the issue, the Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisation, Mr Franklyn Isong, called on the government to take the lunatics off the streets.

He said if the situation is allowed to go unchecked it could constitute a security threat to the state.

“It is appalling to see not just mad people on the streets but people who are homeless. Some of them are not mad but homeless,” he said.

The Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Dr Ini Adiakpan, could not be reached when our correspondent called him while text messages sent to his phone were not answered

Speaking to Niger Delta Trust, Dr Seyi Ogundipe, Senior Registrar in the Department of Mental Health, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, said the vagrant and psychotic roam the streets because the society and their families do not have a support system for them.