Duke allays fears over safety of Bakassi residents
From Anietie Akpan,
Calabar
RESIDENTS of Bakassi Peninsula may not be displaced or relocated in the ongoing implementation of the World Court judgement on the borders suit between Nigeria and Cameroun.
The Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke told journalists yesterday that the over 150,000 Nigerians in the area need not lose sleep over their safety.
In his monthly interactive session with the media, Duke described the Bakassi issue as very sensitive, saying he would not like to speak further on it.
Duke said that despite the roadmap on the handing over some areas to Cameroun, "Nigerians in Bakassi are given appropriate protection from harassment and their pattern of life not affected and both countries must respect that.
"We don't want the Bight of Biafra to be an area of regional conflict. We need to deal with the issue with lot of responsibility," he said.
The governor observed that the population, which is put at 150,000 people is nomadic and "we are not taking or relocating anybody. Negotiations are going on to ensure that the population is not relocated".
But two weeks ago, the Minister of Defence, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso visited Bakassi and said that the Federal Government would soon pull out Nigerian soldiers and civilians from the region.
On former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, Duke said he had not posed a security risk to the state. It will be one year by August, since Taylor came to Nigeria on asylum.
He said: "Crime has not gone up. He has comported himself very well. The entourage he came with, some have settled while some have gone back. Again they have not constituted any form of nuisance".
With the exit of Taylor, Duke said that after 15 years of war, peace had returned to Liberia.
"The price we have to pay is to accommodate our brothers".
The Liberian parliament, he continued, had passed a resolution for enduring peace in the country, the Federal government should keep Taylor in Nigeria.
