The militants explained that they would lay down their arms if the people of Bakassi are included in an agreement over the fate of the region.
In a new video obtained by SaharaReporters, members of the Bakassi Strike Force explained their motives and the conditions under which they would lay down their arms.
The Niger Delta militant group stated that its opposition to the Nigerian federal government is rooted in the latter’s failure to include the people of Bakassi in the Greentree Agreement of 2006, which ceded the region to Cameroon. One militant told our correspondent that Bakassi was “handed over to Cameroon without recourse to human rights,” which has brought “untold hardships” on the people of the community.
Disputes over the oil-region region date back to the colonial era and nearly culminated in a war between Nigeria and Cameroon in 1981.
The militants explained that they would lay down their arms if the people of Bakassi are included in an agreement over the fate of the region. If the Nigerian government cannot reclaim Bakassi, the group said, a "resettlement should be instituted" that would fairly compensate the people of Bakassi.
The international community, the group stated, should monitor the new agreement to ensure that the Bakassi people play a large role in its negotiation. Participation in such negotiations and agreements falls under the rights of all peoples to self-determination, the source explained.
The group emphasized that it does not sabotage Nigerian national assets, as other groups do, and that it simply wants justice for its people.
The Bakassi Strike Force also stated that the Nigerian government should assist in cleaning up oil pollution that has affected the whole region.
Watch the video below: