The Supreme Court in Abuja on Tuesday confirmed Akwa Ibom as the owner of the 76 offshore oil wells claimed by Cross River.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour held that Cross River was stripped of its littoral status by the ceding of Bakassi to the Cameroon.
Rhodes-Vivour, who read the judgment written by Justice Olufunlola Adekeye, stated that the plaintiff (Cross River) could not be located on the main land and claimed oil wells located offshore.
"The suit has been unanimously considered weak and academic, it lacks merit and it's hereby dismissed," Rhodes-Vivour said.
In August 2008, The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) converged on Kano for a retreat where the maritime boundary between Cross River and Akwa Ibom was purportedly redefined.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the entire maritime territory of Cross River was by that exercise ceded to Akwa Ibom.
The commission further decided on the declassification of Cross River State as a littoral state and the transfer of 76 oil wells from Cross River to Akwa Ibom.
After concerted efforts failed to persuade RMAFC to reverse the decision, Cross River took the matter to the Supreme Court for determination.
The plaintiff held that the International Court of Justice's judgment that ceded Bakassi to Cameroon clearly established the baseline for the demarcation of internal waters from the territorial sea.
According to the plaintiff, the demarcation was meant to start at the mouth of the Calabar estuary using the outermost southern tips of the landmass on both sides of the estuary as co-ordinates.
The Cross River Government alleged that the National Boundary Commission (NBC), in a bid to show that the state was not a littoral state, moved the baseline inwards to the mouth of the Calabar River.
Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN), counsel to the Akwa Ibom Government, had urged the apex court to discountenance the issues canvassed by the plaintiff, adding that "the Federal Government did the proper thing in the baseline demarcation which stripped the plaintiff of its littoral status."
"My Lords, the plaintiff never owned that portion of the waters and so could not lay claim to the oil wells located thereof; I urge the court to dismiss the suit for lacking in merit," Ojo said.
Mr Paul Erokoro (SAN), counsel to the Cross River Government, argued that the sharing of the area was politically-motivated rather than geographical considerations.
Speaking with newsmen after the proceeding, Erokoro said that his client had filed an application to challenge the map which guided the decision of the court. NAN
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This is really disgusting and unfortunate, not because the 76 Oil wells are allocated to Akwa Ibom state, but because a Cross River state territory, which was administered by the Obong of Calabar for over 500 years, has been dishonestly given to Cameroon, using a corrupt minded ICJ mechanism and forgery. Even the court sitting in France was already a signal, that the ICJ will not be neutral in the case. Russia has been in land log with Japan since 1945 over the 4 Kuril and Sakhalin Islands, Britain and Argentina over an Island, and many other cases, even longer, but no one hurried to resolve these cases. Gen. Gowon was in power for 9 years and even after the civil war, he did not give the peninsula to the Cameroonians, as he was allegedly accused of promising. Accusation he denied several times. The Bakassi people defended their peninsula for centuries, but western democracy has become devastating to the people of Cross River State and the Bakassi people in particular. How can you enter somebody’s house in a broad day light and forcefully take over his land and properties? This is a 21st century injustice No1. 76 oil wells to Akwa Ibon is just a drop of water in the ocean, compared to the damages done to the Nigeria’s image, security and most especially, the pains inflicted on the weak, defenseless people, who rightfully inherited the peninsular from their forefathers. If Cross River State had nuclear weapons, a western court will never try this. This ICJ decision stinks and should be unacceptable by the Nigerian parliament. Personally, I will recommend the Cross Riverians not to give up, with the Peninsula, because I strongly believe that the real justice is still on the way. On the other hand, the administrations of both Akwa Ibom and Cross Rivers states, to act wisely, as brothers engaging in mutual beneficial joint ventures in infrastructural development for their citizens. Finally, I will plead with the Government of Akwa Ibom state to join hands with our brothers in Cross River state to fight and dismiss that ICJ decision in the National Assembly. The 76 Oil wells is nothing to compare and we should not be bought so cheap. God bless Nigeria!
The Nigerian Supreme Court was wrong in its decision. Firstly, The National Assembly has not ratified the Treaty which supposedly ceded the Bakassi Peninsular to the Camerounians. Secondly, the Supreme Court acted hastily without taking into consideration the legislative "due process" by the National Assembly to examine the merits and drawbacks of a non-binding decision carried out by the ICJ, something even the United States or any European worth its salt would discountenance at any given moment. Thirdly, by taking this position, it would appear that the highest court on our land has subjected itself to the dictates of a politically charged judicial forum where African leaders are trashed, sometimes to some who deserve the attention they drew to themselves. I never would have thought that in my life time, Nigeria would be so weak at its core that an alien system of justice would dictate to Nigeria what it thinks its fair, even upto the point of tampering with out territorial integrity. Whatever happened to Gen. Gowon's war prosecuting catch-phrase: "To keep Nigeria One is a Task that MUST be done?". Right now, sections of Nigeria are being sold or auctioned out, with the connivance of those who fought to keep the country together.Right this moment also and in their faces, most of the "Generals" who prosecuted the war are being hounded and dictated to by a bunch of miscreants called "Boko Haram", and these so-called "generals" are running for cover, while others are being assassinated. Meanwhile, the Camarounian gendermes are busy raping and terrorising Nigerian citizens throughout the Bakassi Peninsular, and not a single sound is heard from the Nigerian Army, Police, Air Force, Foot Soldiers, Civil Defence or even the militia of some sorts urging the gendermes to show mercy to Nigerian citizens. All Obasanjo and Chief Kofi Annan are looking at are the dollar signs. Again I say, the Nigerian Suppreme Court should not be dictated to by the ICJ, especially since the National Assembly has NOT ratified the Treaty.One of the best ways to settle this is to hold a Referendum in Bakassi by all the residents who call or called the peninsular their home. The results of such referendum would determine whether the Bakassi should be ceded to Cameroun or to remain in the Nigerian territory as it has been for centuries. After all, this is a democracy.