By Frank Edima
At about 1pm, Friday, April 24, 2015, some group of unknown gunmen attacked Cameroon bound passengers who boarded a boat from the Nigerian border in Ikang, Bakassi Local Government Area.
Speaking with CrossRiverWatch reporter at Olaf, one of the victims explained “we boarded around 10am to Cameroon. We left here not quite long. Just after the first inland, we saw a boat in front of us. Our driver noticed the boat was filled with gunmen, he reversed the boat. The militants saw us and commanded us to stop if not they will shoot. Our driver escaped and jumped inside the sea.
“The unknown gang came and commanded us to undress. All of us removed our cloths including women. We were all naked. They told us to leave the boat, so all of us left and started swimming. Some kind onlookers rushed to the nearby border and brought wrapper and boxers for us to wear”.
One Nigeria Immigration Officer who would not want his name in the report for security reasons also explained that, “This insecurity in Bakassi is getting out of hand. Our border is very porous and the security strength is very poor.”
An indegene told our reporter that it has been happening before and that they have been reporting to the village council to do something about it but they keep saying “let’s wait on the government”.