Leadership (Abuja)
George Agba
11 June 2008
The Federal Government will tomorrow handover the severeignty of the oil rich Bakassi Peninsula formally to Cameroon amidst fierce opposition from indigenes of the local government area in Cross River State.
Effort by some prominent persons in the area to stop the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon met brick wall yesterday before an Abuja Federal High Court as Justice Mohammed Garba Umar refused to grant their oral application praying the court to issue an order maintaining the status quo.
The judge held in his ruling that the issue of maintaining status quo is a very serious one which ought not to be made orally. "I therefore refuse to grant the application for the second time," Justice Garba ruled.
Two time former chairman of the Bakassi local government, Chief Emmanuel Etene and nine others had filed the suit in which they asked the court to stop the cession of the remaining parts of the area to Cameroon.
They also sought the court order compelling the federal government to pay the sum of N456 billion as compensation for ceding their land to Cameroon, just as they demanded N356 billion as compensation from the government for giving out their "asncestral homes, land and source of livelihood to Cameroon in an unconstitutional manner.
For undermining their rights to dignity, to acquire and own immovable property as well as rights to self determination, the indigenes of Bakassi urged the court to order the government to pay the sum of N100 million to them.
They further prayed the court to restrain the federal government from relocating the administrative headquarters of Bakassi from Abana, where it is located to any other place.
In a bid to spread their tentacles over the concerted effort to stop the ceding, the Bakassi indigines have also asked the federal government to maintain the status quo by halting the cession pending the determinatoni of the suit before the court.
This is continaed in a letter by counsel to indigines of the area, Kayode Fasetire, to Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Michael Aondoakoa.
In the said letter, Fasetire informed the AGF that leave for the plaintiffs in the case to enforce their fundamental human rights.
The letter stated: "The final handing over of the severeignty of the norhern part of Bakassi local government area will take place in line with the terms of the 'green tree agreement' between Nigeria and Cameroon.
"Accordingly, we enjoin you in the spirit of the rule of law as proferred by this administration to refrain from doing anything which will affect the rest i.e the people and territory of Bakassi on the date referred to above and or any other date pending hearing and resolution of this case."
At the instance of the world court ruling in 2002, Nigeria had on June 13, 2006 agreed to handover Bakassi to Cameroon. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo had chickened into the ceding agreement in a meeting convened by the United Nations to settle the protracted controversy.
The ceding deal was hatched and perfected by Obasanjo and the former President of Cameroon, Paul Biya. Obasanjo was reported to have said "our agreement today is a great achievement in conflict prevention, which practically reflects its cost effectiveness when compared to the alternative of conflict resolution."
The United Nations special envoy for Bakassi Peninsula, Ahmadou Ould Abdullah, had also assured that he was convinced that Nigeria would respect the agreement, especially, with the presence of the UN secretary general and witnessses from Germany, France, Britain and the United States who are set to guarantee the reaching of the agreement.
But the indigenes of Bakassi opposed the ceding as most of them vowed to die rather than come under the sovereignty of Cameroon.
Bounded by the Gulf of Guinea, Bakassi is said to contain about 10 per cent of oil and gas reserves in the world.
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The people of Bakassi should use force to keep their land and should not allow people of Nigeria from other part of the country to sell their land to cameroon. I don't think Obasanjo would have sold part of Western Nigeria to Republic of Benin. Republic of Benin had in the past claimed that part of Western Nigeria is Benin Republic. Nigerians as a whole have short memory,and lack the will to fight for their rights in front of strong evidence of abuse.
The rights of Bakassi's indigenes are guaranteed under Article 3 of the Greentree Accord. Unfortunately, Nigeria, the U.N., and the Guarantors are not as interested in enforcing Article 3 as they are in finalizing the border realignment and washing their hands of the matter. This approach will only serve to maintain hostility and sow the seeds for future conflict.
people just need to relax in Nigeria and deal with the corruption, thievery, poverty & et cetera rather than worrying about 'loosing' some real estate
THATS THE WAY IT IS IN BLACK AFRICA, CAN ANY ONE IMAGINE THAT , A FRENCH COURT, WITH A FRENCH JUDGE, AND A FRENCH MARGISTRATE, SITIING IN THE HAGUE ORDER PART OF SPAIN TO BE CEDED TO PORTUGAL? NO ESPECIALLY WITHOUT A REFERANDUM FROM THE PEOPLE CONCERN. WHAT INTEREST DOES FRANCE HAVE IN BAKASSI AND THE CAMEROONS IN GENERAL ? IS WHAT FUTURE HISTORIANS WILL BE LEFT TO PONDER. WHY HAVE THE ICJ, NOT TAKEN UP THE CASE OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF BRITISH SOUTHERN CAMEROONS? SINCE THIS COUNTRY IS THE ONE BORDERING NIGERIA AND NOT CAMEROUN (FRENCH) THE SUPPOSE PLEBECITE IN 1961, ORGANISED BY UN, WAS SUPPOSE TO GIVE BRITISH SOUTHERN CAMEROONS INDEPENDENCE, BY THEM JOINING FRENCH CAMEROUN, WHY IS BSC STILL NOT INDEPENDENT TILL TODAY? WHY IS FRENCH CAMEROUN CLAIMING A BOUNDARY WITH NIGERIA, , WHEN AT THE DATE OF INDEPENDENCE FROM FRANCE IN JAN 1ST 1960, THEY NEVR HAVE ONE? WHY IS FRANCE STATIONING ITS MILITARY APARATUS IN BRITISH SOUTHERN CAMEROONS, AND ARMING THE FRENCH CAMEROUN? ONE WILL COME TO THINK THAT FRANCE IS THE CULPRIT. HIDING BEHIND THE EU AND ICJ, THATS WHY ALL THE UN AFRICAN COMMISIONERS ARE ALL FRENCH SPEAKING AFRICANS, WHO KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE PEOPLE THE ARE BOSSING. THE UN AND FRANCE HAVE BECAME A NEW CRRUPT ,MAFIA, BENT ON , CAUSING PAIN AND SUFFERING TO THOUSAND S OF AFRICAN PEIOPLE, ALIENATING THEM FROM THEIR ANCESTRAL LAND SOO, POOR FRANCE CAN DRILL OIL BENEATH THE BAKASSI, , AS THEY ARE DOING IN VICTORIA ( BRITISH SOUTHERN CAMEROONS) WITHOUT REBELLION, THE ONLY OPTION IS TO HAVE THE PEOPLE WEAPONS TO KILL THESE FRENCH CAMEROUNESE SOLDIERS, WHUILE WATING FOR THEIR FRENCH MASTERS TURN.
The loss of a part of one's sovereignty requires a sombre reflection of our national values and priorities.
I have often thought that matters of this nature is of grave constitutional importance,such that it would not be unthinkable to organise a referenda to seek the views of Nigerians about the on-goings in the Bakassi Penninsula, especially when it comes to the sacred interests of our fellow citizens in that part of the federation.And of course vital national interests.
But, we are where we are, we have lost the case at the ICJ and we have signed the Green Tree Agreement with Cameroun at the UN.
My concern is what happens now to the Bakassi indigenes and what measures we are doing to assist matters.