Cameroun Finally Takes Control in Disputed Bakassi

15 Aug 2013


Five years after an agreement with Nigeria, the Republic of Cameroun Wednesday took full sovereignty over the disputed Bakassi Peninsula, signalling the end of a bloody conflict over the land.

“The transitional period in the Camerounian peninsula of Bakassi has come to an end,” said the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Nigeria formally ceded Bakassi to Cameroun on August 14, 2008, bring to an end 15 years of border conflict.

A United Nations-backed period of transition agreed by the two countries followed to allow Cameroun to develop an administrative presence in the area.

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs II, Nurudeen Mohammed, said the government had taken note of the landmark date.

“This has been going on for 10 years. We are aware. We are part of the process,” he said.

The peninsula, in the west of the country, was formerly part of Southern Cameroun, itself an area of Nigeria, until inhabitants voted to join Cameroun in 1961.

It has around 40,000 inhabitants, including many Nigerian expatriates.
Based on the formal take over of the peninsula by Cameroun, Nigerians living in the peninsula will now have to apply for a visa or apply for Camerounian citizenship, and Camerounians will have to register with the tax authorities.

Mohammed said a committee had been set up to address a range of citizenship issues.

In October 2002, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Bakassi, a 1,000-square-kilometre (386-square-mile) patch of Atlantic coastal swamp, was part of Cameroun, not Nigeria.

Cameroun originally took its claim over the sovereignty of the potentially oil and gas rich peninsula to the court in 1994.

Nigeria relinquished any hope of legally reclaiming Bakassi last October, when the 10-year period to appeal the ICJ’s ruling expired.

The decision not to appeal sparked wide media criticism in he country, including from local leaders who alleged that Nigerians in Bakassi had been abandoned by the federal government.

Rights groups have warned that Nigerians in Bakassi face discrimination.
Much of the tension surrounding Bakassi stems from the belief that it is resource-rich.

Large chunks of the area have been gazetted for exploration, but energy firms have typically stayed clear given the uncertainty on sovereignty.

The area has also been a prime target for Nigerian pirates due to its proximity to the unstable but oil-rich Niger delta region, where attacks and kidnappings are common.

In 2009, the Camerounian government stepped up its fight against the pirates by deploying an elite army unit to Bakassi, and by later establishing five military bases there.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/cameroun-finally-takes-control-in-disputed-bakassi/156319/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBNTrPoPxIM

Bakassi Peninsula has never been part of Nigeria - Robert Clarke

Dareli datz me jawe cheers to nairali...This is my 1st time to enta FP....I wnt all of us to be so matured...Lets stop this 1st to comment....abeggi...i came here 1st.....okay

Welcome to our new brothers, Cameroon is now your country. My countrymen, being from a country means you Must love that country and must b loyal to him. Enjoy your new home.
I ala salute the Nigerian gov for their love for peace and negotiations. It is a victory for Africa and Africans, we show to the world that we are not warmonger and that Africans shouldnt fight each other. One love is the solution
Hope everything will go well, Cameroon is a blessed country u will enjoy your stay and the people. Abide by the laws .

Biafran Territory conceded to Cameroun by Nigeria.

We don suffer no be small.

I also want to congratulate Obassanjo and Paul Biya who I think deserve at least more than Obama the Nobel prize of peace.

I also want to congratulate the Cameroonian army for her professionalism.

I also want to thank God for giving us back what belonged to us.

CAMEROONPRIDE: I also want to congratulate Obassanjo and Paul Biya who I think deserve at least more than Obama the Nobel prize of peace.

I also want to congratulate the Cameroonian army for her professionalism.

I also want to thank God for giving us back what belonged to us.

Until the next President of Nigeria dat is. Bakassi will not go just like dat, use ur brain.

waternogetenemy:

Until the next President of Nigeria dat is. Bakassi will not go just like dat, use ur brain.

what do u mean my brother?