Ex-militants block Ben Ayade’s office

Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade

Several ex-militants on Monday blocked the office of Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade, preventing government officials, political appointees and key civil servants who were not on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) strike from accessing their offices.

A spokesman for the former militants said: “Since they begged us and we complied and renounced our activities and surrendered our guns in 2018 following state government promises for amnesty and settlement, nothing more has come.

“We attended some training but the starter packs have not come. The state government has not acted well. We are not happy. They should not take us for granted.”

Permanent secretary in the state security office Alfred Mboto, while addressing the ex-militants, blamed the Federal Government for neglecting Cross River in the federal amnesty programme.

He told the ex-militants and that the state government had done its own part, promising to further assuage their grievances by January 2022.

Mboto cautioned them against taking the laws into their hands.