Okon Bassey in Uyo
Nigerians Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) of the Bakassi Peninsula thursday protested the non-release of four Nigerian chiefs by the Cameroonian Gendarmes 12 days after their adoption.
The adoption of the local chiefs was said to have been the climax of untold hardship which Nigerians in the peninsula are being subjected to.
The protest was made by the National and International Coordinator, Bakassi IDPs and Liaison Officer, Prince Aston Joseph Inyang, at a press briefing in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital where he made public a protest letter to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
He listed the names of those in the captivity of the gendarmes to include Bassey Ikoedem Utong, Ndung Ekpenyong Ndung, Joseph Ekpenyong Isang and Asukwo Isuo Atteh.
The four chiefs, he said, were first detained at the Diamond security station and later taken to Abana, which is now renamed Jabanne, and finally transferred to Mudemba, the headquarters of Ndian Division.
Besides wanton abuse of their human rights, extortion and heavy taxation, Inyang lamented that the crises reached alarming point when the four community leaders were seized and taken to unknown destination for the past two weeks.
“They were arrested over 12 days ago, and till date, nobody knows their whereabouts,†Prince Inyang said.
He called on the federal and the Akwa Ibom State governments and other relevant authorities to intervene with a view to rescuing the adopted community leaders alive
However, to free the abducted chiefs, Inyang said they were requested by the Divisional Officer (DO) in-charge of Idabatu station to pay N594,000, after their crayfish, fish and other seafood were seized at Abunja area of Cameroon.
According to him, some natural boundaries have been falsified and Nigerian territories including Ataobong community have been renamed to bear Cameroonian names, while local Nigerian chiefs were replaced by Cameroonians.
He regretted that forceful eviction of Nigerians from their areas, extortion of monies in form of taxes and other inhuman treatments, had compelled them to report the matter to the United Nations (UN) and the Nigerian government to no avail.
“Nigerians from Bakassi peninsula had cried out about one month ago over forceful eviction by the Cameroonian authorities for unwarranted taxation and levies.
“As a people with large families, they were gathered at Ikang, in Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State, as well as Esuk Enwang in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State without any emergency attention given to us†he stated.
