Abuja — Worried by the recent attacks on Nigerians in the Bakassi Peninsula by Cameroonian gendarmes, the House of Representatives Thursday advised the federal government to formally report to the United Nations Organization (UN), the African Union (AU) and other relevant bodies in a bid to compel Cameroon to abide by the Green Tree Agreement (GTA).

The House also called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work in conjunction with Ministry of Interior and the National Emergency Management Agency [NEMA] to immediately resettle the Nigerian returnees from Cameroon .

This resolution was taken following a motion by chairman of the Human Rights Committee, Hon. Beni Lar, over the attacks of Nigerians living in the ceded Bakassi Peninsula by Cameroonian gendarmes.

While leading the debate on the motion, Lar expressed regrets that Cameroon had failed to comply with stipulations of the GTA.

She noted that Article 3 of the GTA provided that Cameroon should not force Nigerians to leave Bakassi or be harassed in any manner, noting that unfortunately, its authorities have consistently been harassing Nigerians.

The lawmaker drew the attention of her colleagues to the fact that only recently, about 700 Nigerian fishermen were forced out of the peninsula, and had to run for safety without their property. She therefore opined that the Federal Government should take the matter to the UN, AU and other relevant international bodies.

"Nigeria should not fold its arms over this, and Cameroon should pay adequate compensation to the affected people," she said, while further requesting the House to further resolve to cause the Federal Government to summon the Cameroonian ambassador to Nigeria for questioning on the development.

In his contributing to the motion, Chairman of the House Committee on Police Affairs, Hon. Abdul Ningi, accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of using the ceding to gain statesmanship popularity. He regretted the deplorable condition of the people, adding that the House had earlier in a resolution advised against ceding the peninsula.

Also in his submissions, Hon. Bassey Otu argued that the people of Bakassi had never accepted the World Court judgement, saying it was naturally a difficult thing for people to be moved from their natural abode. "Nigeria has disappointed the people of Bakassi and Cross River State .

The House also directed its committees on foreign affairs and interior to investigate the reports of the attacks and report back for further actions.