Bakassi militants
Apparently to express anger over alleged abandonment by the
government, over 20 suspected Bakassi militants on Friday, invaded the
Cross River State Governor’s office in Calabar, the Cross Rivers State
capital.
Premium Times exclusively reported that the suspected militants
invaded the Government House at about 10:00am and for several hours held
the Deputy Governor, Ivara Esu, and some staff hostage.
According to a source who disclosed to the publication, the
daredevil militants boldly told the people that they belonged to the
Bakassi Volunteer Force.
It’s leader, who gave his name as “Capon,” boasted that
his group were out to compel the government to release their monthly
amnesty stipend, which has been withheld for several months.
He noted that the decision to stage the blockade was unanimously
taken by the group to draw global attention to the deplorable way the
Bakassi indigenes had been treated by the present administration in the
state and country.
The Capon insisted that Bakassi people, who were displaced when
Nigeria handed over their ancestral homes to the Republic of Cameroon,
were being treated like slaves by government, adding that the group had
in the past made several efforts to dialogue with the government but
said the governor showed no interest in dealing with the problem facing
them.
“Our people are dying hopelessly on a daily basis due to minor
ailments that could have easily been treated. We have made attempts to
dialogue with the governor several times but he would not give us
audience and that is why we are here to demand our little stipend.
“We are from the Bakassi Volunteer Force, who have been
neglected by government. Our people are dying yet the government is not
doing anything. We decided to come out here today to let the entire
world know what is happening so when we apply violence against the
government nobody will blame us.
“Before the Bakassi Peninsula was handed over to Cameron, both
the state and the federal governments benefitted from the proceeds of
oil and other business activities from that place. After our homes were
handed over, we are treated like strangers in our own land.
“If the federal government has rejected us, we won’t allow our
own state too to reject us. We will shut down the governor’s office if
nothing is done in the next few days,” he said
When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor,
Christian Ita, confirmed the invasion by the militants, and said the
group was there to express their plight to government but did not
disrupt administrative duty.
He added that the state Security Adviser, Jude Ngaji, had addressed
the aggrieved group while promising to contact the Amnesty office in
Abuja.
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