Leader of the Niger Delta militant group, Bakassi Strike Force, BSF, Simply Benjamin, aka ‘Humble Lion G1’ has stated that members of the group are ready to lay down their arms if the Federal Government addresses the problem of Bakassi.
Benjamin stated that the group is out to ensure the well-being of the people who reside in Bakassi, now ceded to Cameroon and not out to destroy national assets.
He said that in spite of offering to work with the government to address the concerns of the Bakassi returnees, the military has been on his trail and disrupting residents near his camp.
According to the group’s leader, “The BSF has been agitating against the poor implementation of the Greentree Agreement after ceding Bakassi to Cameroon, leaving Nigerians resident in the peninsular without proper resettlement.
“We are ready to lay down our arms and embrace dialogue under a process to be brokered by the international community to ensure that Nigerian returnees are properly resettled and rehabilitated.
“Our grievance against the Federal Government has to do with the way Nigeria ceded our ancestral land to Cameroon without recourse to the feelings and rights of the people to self determination.
“Under the Greentree Agreement, there are steps to be taken to ensure that the fundamental rights of the returnees are protected but the government has not fulfilled its obligations under the agreement.’’
This is coming at a time when leaders of the region met with President Muhammdu Buhari in a bid to bring an end to the militancy crisis that has ravaged the country.