By Ike Uchechukwu

BAKASSI—NIGERIAN fishermen and traders at Bakassi and Henshaw Beach Market, Calabar South Local Government Area, Cross River State, have recounted their bitter ordeal at the hands of Cameroonian gendarmes, who ceaselessly seize properties of Nigerians and rob on Bakassi high seas and waterways.

They cried out that many of them have had their goods and speed boats impounded by the security men, who also collect bribes depending on the circumstances surrending the unlawful seizure.

Collectionof  payoff

According to reports, the Cameroonian law enforcement officers have daringly banned Nigerian fishermen from fishing in some parts of the high seas.

I paid N800, 000 cash to gendarmes- Ikpi

A businesswoman, Mrs. Eunice Ikpi, who lost two boats, last year, to sea robbers, one worth N6 million, to sea bandits which she paid for with  a loan from a cooperative and UBA, told NDV that the attack did not start this year even though it was now coming from foreigners, adding: “Many have fallen victim to these miscreants on the high sea but are afraid to speak out because they believe they have Nigerian informants.”

According to her: “I am happy with the flushing of militants from the waterways, but we are surprised at the coming of Cameroonian gendarmes, we believe that they have informants, most times, they know the content of the boats, I lost two boats last year, I have paid N800, 000 cash to those criminals so that they can release my boat. My customers lost close to N4 million.”

Seafood business practically dead

“This is a business I have been  doing for about two decades, it was when Donald Duke was governor that he relocated us from a small market to Lagos street and that was when my business started booming, But with the advent of militancy   and sea robbery,   a lot changed, now it is Cameroonian gendarmes,” she lamented.

Mrs. Ikpi asserted: “I used to have over 15 clients ,I sell fish, crayfish and lobsters to some,   while I help others take their goods from Nigeria to Cameroon and vice versa, but a lot has changed, people are afraid to go and buy things as they did before.”

She said: “ I have fishermen for my boats that I can no longer pay, my seafood business is almost dead, because I cannot meet up with demands anymore, if I did not   sell my land, I would have been out of business, the security agencies and government must use their diplomatic ties to look into this challenge ,we are tired.”

They arrest us, collect ransom

A fisherman, who pleaded anonymity, corroborated her claim, saying that the sabotage on the waterways and the high sea by gendarmes was responsible for the insufficiency people were experiencing in the metropolis.

His words: “As you can see, the tide is not so high, yet there is scarcity. The scarcity of crayfish now is occasioned by the activities of the Cameroonian gendarmes. They do not allow our men to go deeper to catch the fish and crayfish.

“They detain and ask us to pay ransom before they let us go and in most cases, the money we travel with to purchase goods for sale, as well as our fishing boats are usually taken away from us,” he lamented.

He also asserted: “This is the season when prices of sea foods, especially crayfish go down drastically, but due to what those gendarmes do, prices have even gone up. As we speak, they have now forbidden our people from going inside to fish again.

“In fact I have lost two boats out of my six, including 40HP, 24 HP and 15 HP engines and it is really not funny anymore.” he asserted.

Throwing away of the crayfish

His words: “They normally seize our boats and sometimes engines, they seize our nets and anchors, and these engines are very expensive depending on the horse power and product, which are Yamaha, Suzuki and Marine brands. They will throw away the crayfish and impound our boat, arrest my colleagues (fishermen) and take them to their cell for detention, demanding ransom before they are released, sometimes up to N150,000.

“We are using this opportunity to call on President Muhammadu Buhari and the government of Cross River state to come and help us because it has gotten out of hand,” he added.

SOS to Buhari, Ayade

In a Save Our Soul, SOS, to President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor of the State, Prof Ben Ayade, the traders urged the federal and state governments to come to their rescue by increasing security on the high seas and waterways to put a stop to the weekly harassment and extortion in the hands of the officers.

President, Uwana /Afikpo Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Mr. Agha Agha Okoro, told NDV that unwholesome activities of the gendarmes have adversely affected fishing activities, resulting in scarcity of seafood in Calabar metropolis and environs lately.

He bemoaned that the market, majorly known for the sale of crayfish, fresh fish, shrimp, snail, lobster ,oyster and other sea-foods and usually a beehive of activities,   has become a shadow of itself,   as traders who usually travel   from within and outside the state to buy and sell have come down in number.

“The market has not witnessed its usual patronage due to the scarcity of these sea foods,   which fishermen and traders travel by sea to get around the Bakassi area of the high sea and this is owing to the insecurity on the waterways,” he said.

We need information to act- FOC

Contacted Flag Officer Commanding, FOC, Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral James Oluwole, said the Navy was unaware of the claims by the fishermen and traders, but promised to look into the matter and strengthen the  security network in the flash points. According to him: “It depends on where the claims are coming from, but I need facts before I can determine if what they are saying is true or not, but from what we do on daily basis; we conduct a 24/7 patrol and there is no way we can really dominate the waters.

“I will tell you frankly, once you have a very clear picture and know where the gaps are, and then we look at how to drop them. Security is holistic and there is what I call participatory development. The people must be involved; they know these criminals and unless they are ready to bring them out, the problem remains and they are part of the problem themselves.

“If they can tell us where the flash points are in terms of sea robbery, I can assure you that we will be there to provide necessary security,” he said.

State govt ready to render support -SSA

On his part, the State Security Adviser, SSA Mr. Jude Ngaji, restated the state government’s commitment to collaborate with security agencies, including the navy and marine police to step up their security measures.

He asserted: “If they (fishermen and traders) bring this  before us, we will put it together and send it to the National Security Adviser. But for us as a state, we have spoken to the Navy and we are ready to support them and the Marine police with the logistics they need to enable them work well.”