The UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, UNOWAS, has rendered praises to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo for the way he handled the recent crisis in Bakassi Peninsula, which affected Nigerian fishermen.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and Head of UNOWAS, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, spoke with the Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria in New York. Mr. Chambas regretted the maltreatment and killings of about 97 Nigerians in the Peninsula by Cameroonian Gendarmes over failure to pay a N100,000 boat levy.
“But let me commend the initiative of the Acting President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who has already directed that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) should find out what numbers have come across the border to Nigeria. He also asked the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) at the Cross River State level to look into what numbers are being displaced from Nigeria as a result of this.
“Do they need help? If they do, that authority should also ascertain the numbers involved and provide the necessary support these newly displaced persons may need. So, I think adequate response has been undertaken by the Nigerian side to cater for any Nigerians who might have come back into the country from Bakassi. We commend that effort on the part of the Nigerian authorities,” the UN envoy said.
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