The Federal Government on Saturday distributed food items to the members of the defunct Bakassi Strike Force who laid down their arms in 2018.
While distributing the items, the former Deputy Speaker of Cross River House of Assembly, Mr Orok Duke, said the ex-militants disserved the gesture, adding that they had been peaceful since the amnesty.
The palliatives are part of the 1,400 bags of rice distributed by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs through the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to cushion the effect of COVID-19 in Cross River.
He noted that the whole wards in all the Local Government Areas in the state had benefited from the exercise.
Duke said the ex-Bakassi Strike Members were the last group to benefit from the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs led palliatives.
He said the essence of the exercise was to cushion the effect of COVID-19 which had ravaged the country and the entire world since 2020.
FG distributes palliatives to ex-Bakassi militants