Over 150 ex-members of the Bakassi Freedom Fighters converged on the Government House Calabar, Monday to protest what they described as the refusal of the Federal and Cross River State Government as well as the Presidential Amnesty Office to pay them the start-up allowances, six months after they were trained at different locations in the country.
Bakassi Freedom Fighters had in 2018 surrendered their arms to the Federal Government in the presence of the state authorities, accepting to embrace peace and support the development agenda of the country.
Speaking during the protest in front of Government House, amidst tight security, Calabar, some of the repentant ex-militant Generals and Commanders, said attending to their demands will only give peace a chance.
They called on President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Ben Ayade to immediately approve the payment of their start-up packs to enable them to commence the vocations they learnt during the training.
While addressing the ex-militant leaders, the Permanent Secretary, Security Services, Dr Alfred Mboto, said the start-up packs will be available by January 2022, assuring that the Cross River State Government will make up for them before the time.
The Bakassi Strike Force ex-militants had dropped their arms with the agreement that they were good to be trained in different vocations to enable them to start a new life, but according to them, over 250 of them have been left unattended to while over 150 trained have not been adequately equipped.