FG Vows to Halt Further Attacks on Nigerians in Bakassi

The federal government Thursday condemned the attack on
Nigerians living in Bakassi Peninsula, which is under
Cameroonian sovereignty, and assured the people that it was
taking measures to protect them from further attacks by that
country’s gendarmes.
Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro, told State House
correspondents in Abuja at the end of the meeting of the
Presidential Committee on Bakassi and Rights of the Displaced
People that the government would ensure that the belligerence
on the part of the gendarmes is checked.
At the meeting, Vice-President Namadi Sambo directed the
committee to ensure that it submitted its final report this month
on the relocation of the Bakassi people.
Moro spoke against the backdrop of the recent attack on
Nigerians living in the oil-rich peninsula, which Nigeria gave up
following the judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
that awarded the territory to Cameroun.
Some 17 persons were feared killed and about 1,900 displaced
when the Cameroonian gendarmes attacked them in their village,
Efut Obot Ikot.
The displaced Nigerians, according to a Bakassi leader and
former National Assembly Adviser to former President Olusegun
Obasanjo, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, fled through the forest to
escape to Nigeria.
They were later camped at St. Mark’s Primary School, Eyo Edem
in Akpabuyo Local Government Area of Cross River State.
Moro said a report of what happened to the Nigerians had been
submitted to the government and was being studied with a view
to taking appropriate steps.
According to him, the final report of the presidential committee
would be ready soon, pointing out that government would
ensure the implementation of the committee’s recommendations
that would ease the hardships brought on them by their forced
relocation from Bakassi.
He explained that the federal government was working closely
with all stakeholders, including the affected state governments,
in finding a lasting solution to the plight of the Bakassi people.
He however urged the victims of the Cameroonian aggression to
remain calm as government was determined to ensure that they
are protected from further attacks.
He called on them to exercise patience and persevere while
government was taking steps to ensure their safety in the
peninsula.
He said: “As it is now, as a good player on the international
scene, Nigeria has subscribed to the Green Tree Agreement and
on our own part as a country, we will continue to abide by the
provisions of the agreement.
“For one reason or the other, resulting from little skirmishes
here and there, the Cameroonian gendarmes have attacked some
innocent Nigerians.
“I think at the moment we should not be attempting to segment
solutions. The present crisis that we find in Bakassi is a Nigerian
crisis and the Nigerian government is taking every step in
conjunction with state governments to address the situation.
“And so, the right thing to do is to look up to the decision of
government as to what to do with the Bakassi people, because
the Bakassi people are Nigerians.”
At the meeting, Sambo directed the presidential committee to file
its final report this month to hasten the process of the relocation
of the Bakassi people.
Sambo said all the issues regarding the peninsula and its
estranged people must be quickly addressed before the end of
August, thus necessitating the need for the quick submission of
the report.
He advised that the report should include the timeframe to guide
government on what to do, as the committee has four months
left to conclude everything concerning the plight of the Bakassi
people.
He told the committee that funds would be made available to
them so as to discharge their duties accordingly.
Earlier, the Deputy Governor of Cross River State and Chairman
of the presidential committee, Mr. Efiok Cobham, commended
the efforts of the government to address the plight of the Bakassi
people.
He stressed the need for the committee members to visit Bakassi
and to ascertain the area where the people want to be resettled