People of Bakassi who were evicted from their village after the region was ceded to Cameroon by the International Court of Justice in Hague, Netherland have besieged the Cross River state house to protest the non-payment of their monthly stipend.
The Nigerian citizens who were settled in Ikot Effiom and Obutong in Bakassi local government area in the state approached the office of the governor, Liyel Imoke on Wednesday, August 13, 2014 over the non-payment of their N5000 per family monthly or “conditional cash transfer” payment over the past 20 months.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Mr. Nathan Monday and Mrs. Agnes Eyo stated that at least 17 children have died this year in the settlement as a result of hunger and lack of health care facility.
Vanguard reports:
They said: “We have no money, no food, no drugs and nowhere to fish because Cameroon has since stopped us from going into the sea to practice our trade.”
According to them, Governor Imoke had visited the settlement twice and on each occasion he promised to assist them, but nothing has been forthcoming.
They added: “For over two years now, the N5,000 they used to give us every month has stopped coming and each time we go to the Commissioner for Social Welfare, she tells us the governor has not approved the stipend.
“Meanwhile, our children are dying daily. So we are not going away from here until they pay us our money.”
When Vanguard visited the office of the Commissioner for Social Welfare, Mrs Patricia Anderly, she was said to have gone for the weekly executive council meeting and several calls to her phone were not answered.
However, Ms Edisua Usangiso, Chairman of Bakassi, who addressed the protesters, said she will rent buses to take them back to their settlement and make plans to find them jobs.
