Fresh Protest Rocks Boki Community Over Visit Of UN Border Demarcation Team

By Our Correspondent

There is palpable tension in Danare, Biajua and Basua Border communities in Boki ‎local government Area of Cross River state over a planned visit of the United Nations Technical Team on Border Demarcation to implant the New Pillar 113A in line with International Court of Justice (ICJ)judgment.

The Protest led by the Clan Head, His Royal Highness, Michael Owan Bedebe and Seven other Village Heads, saw youths, children and stripped women going round the three communities chanting war songs and carrying traditional sacrifices and placards bearing inscriptions like, “We no go gree oh we no go gree”, In old Pillar 113A we believe, New Pillars brought by the UN is a Fraud, FG please come to our rescue, Dont allow Danare to be ceded like Bakassi among others.

Speaking with newsmen, the Clan Head of Bashua, HRH Michael ‎Owan Bedebe said: “We are protesting because we heard that the UN technical committee on demarcation is coming again and we don’t want an inch of our land to be ceded to Cameroon, not in my life time and the generation after me will continue the struggle‎.

“I am 90 years old, I did not see the first world war, but all others I witnessed them. All along the people of ‎Baje (Cameroon), Danare and Bashua have been living together peacefully with the recognition of our traditional boundaries.

“They came here to farm and we graciously gave them land but they want to play God through their backers to implant New Pillar 113A to divide my clan, one in Cameroon and the other in Nigeria.

90 year old village head leading Danare people in protest

“What I want as the last result is that if Pillar 113A cannot be found because they have removed it, let us go back to our traditional boundaries known to all the communities of Biajuha, Bashua and Danare 1&2 in Nigeria and Baje, Nadi, Nsanakan and Njiam in Cameroon.

“Cameroon wants to take over our land because they have no forest and we have heavy carbon credits, salt and heavy vegetation.

“We have instituted a case against them after they laid claim to our land in 1932 and we won them‎ at Mafhe.

“I call on the federal government to listen to my advice that they should allow the boundary to pass through the Cross River to Agbokim which has been our traditional boundary lines and not the new Pillars they planted here.

Also Speaking on the matter, a former Cross River State House of Assembly member, Hon. Cletus Obun said Danare and other affected communities will resist any annexation of their lands by the United Nations, Cameroon or Federal Government.

Obun said: “This is about the third ‎time Nigeria will be ceding her territories to Cameroon, what the government want is to send us into another second slavery and the people of the communities led by the 90years old Clan Head and the youths are saying we don’t want any more annexation.

Even the Danare children were not left out of the protest to save their land

“We don’t want Nigerian government to again play international politics with human lives.”

A youth Leader, Godwin Bessong also told CrossRiverWatch that the people were protesting because they got information that the UN Technical team are coming to demarcate their land.

“Government agencies and their stooges have been denying this but we are on ground here and we know what is going on, we are the people feeling the pulse and we are saying 9 kilometers of our rich lands have been demarcated and ceded to Cameroon.

“We shall resist all attempts at taking over of our land until Pillar 113A which they have removed from its original boundary line is found.”