75% Southern Borno residents flee to Cameroon - MIRP

A Civil Society Organisation, Minority Interests Rights Project, has raised the alarm that 75 per cent of indigenes of Southern Borno have fled to Cameroon following the recent attack launched on them by the Boko Haram Islamic sect.

The group however expressed reservation over the 20 slots given to the ethnic minorities in the national conference being packaged by the Federal Government.

The coordinator of NIMR, Mr. Mark Lipdo, stated this on Saturday in Abuja during a workshop for leaders of ethnic minorities in the North, jointly organised by Gatestone Institute, New York and Stefanos Foundation (Nigeria).

At the event, the representative of GI, Mr. Alan Craig, called on Britain to apologize to Nigeria because 'the problems and tensions in Northern Nigeria are direct results of left overs by the British colonial government.'

Lipdo said, 'The security situation in Northern Nigeria is bad enough; we have found out that the minorities in Southern Borno at the moment are within the Republic of Cameroon and nobody seem to have said anything about them, particularly in Gwoza Local Government.

'The recent attack in Konduga is there widely, we heard a report from the people in Konduga when they were running four days ago; they said they did not know whether they will survive and at the end of the day,  75 per cent of the whole community have been burned down and over 50 people were killed.

'These stories were not taken serious because it involves the minority groups. So we are trying to bring the minorities together to tell their stories, especially now that Nigerians are anticipating a new nation through the national conference. So our aim is to bring cohesion among the minority groups, enable them to tell their stories and find a way forward.'

When asked whether the minorities in the South-South were being carried along, he said the present security situation has been so high in the North.