Leaders of
16 mangrove island communities in Akwa Ibom State have threatened to join
Cameroon if the Nigerian government fails to stop Cameroonian gendarmes from constantly
molesting them.
Already,
the community leaders alleged that Cameroonian authorities have taken over
their ancestral lands.
The communities allegedly annexed by the neighbouring country include Ine
Odiong, Inua Mba, Ine Inua Abasi, Ine Usuk, Ibekwe, Itung Ibekwe, Akwa Ine
Nsikak and Ine Ekeya.
Others
are Ine Ebighi Edu, Ine Etakisib, Atabong, Akpakanya, Ine Okobedi, Ine Atayo,
Ine Akpak and Abana.
The
affected communities are part of Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State,
in southern Nigeria.
During
a meeting with the village head of Abana, Nyong Etim Efa, a fact-finding team
from the National Boundary Commission, led by Moses Onyoh, was told that the
Government of the Republic of Cameroon had imposed taxes on Nigerians living in
the 16 affected communities.
Mr.
Efa said though he was appointed a village head by the Akwa Ibom State
Government, he had also been given certificate as a village head by Republic of
Cameroon.