Ex-militants threaten to disrupt activities in A’Ibom Airport, ExxonMobil

By Etim Ekpimah

Repentant militants under the aegis of Bakassi Freedom Fighters have threatened to disrupt activities at Ibom International Airport, ExxonMobil as well as vandalise pipelines from Frontier Oil Limited in Akwa Ibom.

The group’s spokesperson, Commander Ebong Friday, said that the state government had neglected its members since the time they dropped their arms in the Federal Government Amnesty Programme to pursue peace.

Friday stated this in Eket, Eket Local Government Area of the state at a meeting with his members on Friday.

He stated that the group had given the Akwa Ibom State governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel one week ultimatum to empower his members in the youth empowerment programme or risk dire consequences.

“It is very unfortunate that the state government is taking us for granted. We dropped our arms in the course of the Presidential Amnesty Programme and chose to embrace peace.

 “The Akwa Ibom State Government called for amnesty and we surrendered our arms with an agreement that they would train us and integrate us.

“After we voluntarily dropped our arms to embrace peace so that we could achieve what they had promised us, they turned their backs on us,” he lamented.

Friday said that about 950 members of the group were yet to be integrated and documented in the Federal Government amnesty programmes. He stated that they went to Obubra for training and came back to the state but that the state government had yet to sort them out.

Culled from Punch newspaper