Cameroon soldiers on Monday, January 24, repelled a number of militias suspected to be members of the Biafra Nations League, (BnL) terrorizing merchant vessels at the Gulf of Guinea plus other activities.
Top sources had said men suspected to be members of BnL had carried out some operations at Akpa Nkanya in the Peninsula targeting foreign vessels.
Sources said several gunshots were however fired as at 11am in the Peninsula as men of the Rapid d’intervention Battalion (BIR) in Bakassi Peninsula forced a number of the militias to retreat.
Pillar Today gathered that following the tension in the area, some oil companies had reportedly suspended operations since on Sunday for the safety of their workers since the ultimatum of BnL ended on January 23.
It was further gathered that in the Peninsula some workers of Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH) , a national oil and gas company of the Republic of Cameroon which holds a minor stake in projects operated by international partners were afraid to operate due to fear of militant attack, although the Cameroonian and Nigerian military heavily surrounded the maritime borders to protect the firms, and vessels.
A senior officer of BnL, Edem Joseph confirmed to some newsmen that the militias are their members but declined to give details of their encounter.
The Nigerian Army on January 23 sealed off the ‘Welcome To Bakassi’ entrance where BnL loyalists on November 8, 2021 seized control of the boundary between Bakassi and Akpabuyo Local Government Areas (LGA) in Nigeria and hoisted the Biafran flag.
The group is demanding a sovereign state of Biafra declared in May 30, 1967 which sparked three years civil war, and of recent the release of Mr Nnamdi Kanu, Leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and Leader of Biafra Zionist Federation (BZF), Benjamin Onwuka, as well as others in detention.
