Bakassi is the peninsula extension of the territory of Calabar into the Atlantic Ocean. The peninsula lies roughly between latitudes 4°25‘ and 5°10‘N and longitudes 8°20‘ and 9°08‘E. It consists of a number of low-lying, largely mangrove- covered islands covering an area of about 665 sq. The population is generally put at between 250,000 and 300,000 people. Bakassi is peopled mainly by the various tribes from Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, including the Efik, Ibibio and Annang.

Bakassi is situated at the extreme eastern end of the Gulf of Guinea, where the warm East-flowing Guinea current meets the cold North-flowing Benguela Current. Most of the population makes their living through fishing.

The peninsula is commonly described as ”oil-rich”, even though no commercially viable deposits of oil have yet been discovered. However, the area has aroused considerable interest from oil companies.

IN THE BEGINNING

In the beginning was a kingdom, founded in Bakassi around 1450 by the Efik of coastal South-East part of Nigeria, and was incorporated within the political framework of Calabar Kingdom along with Southern Camerouns. During the European scramble for Africa, Queen Victoria was said to have signed a Treaty of Protection with the King and Chiefs of Calabar on September 10, 1884. This enabled the United Kingdom to exercise control over the entire territory of Calabar, including Bakassi. The territory subsequently became de facto part of the Republic of Nigeria, although the border was never permanently delineated. Interestingly, even after Southern Camerouns voted in 1961 through a plebiscite to leave Nigeria and became a part of Cameroun, Bakassi remained under Calabar.

Events before the Plebiscite

Dr. E. M. L. Endeley became President of the Cameroun National Federation in 1949. At that time, southern Camerouns (including Bakassi peninsula) was administered with Nigeria. Following a dispute within the Eastern House of Assembly in Enugu in May 1953, nine out of thirteen delegates from the southern Camerouns, who had originally been elected on the platform of the National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons, opted for ‘neutrality‘, claiming that they were not Nigerians. Mr. S. T. Muna, the only southern Cameroonian in the Eastern Executive Council at that time was actually dismissed. This crisis led to the name change from ”National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons”, as the NCNC was then known, to ”National Council of Nigerian Citizens.”

During the July 1953 London Constitutional Conference, Endeley, citing fear of ”Nigerian domination”, requested the unconditional withdrawal of the southern Camerouns from the Eastern Region of Nigeria, and its transformation into a separate region of its own in line with its trusteeship status. Britain agreed and implemented separation in 1954, making the southern Cameroun (including Bakassi peninsula) a semi-autonomous quasi-region of the Nigerian Federation with its own House of Assembly and Executive Council located at Buea. Endeley was called the Leader of Government Business, not Premier, primarily because southern Camerouns was not yet a full region.

Importantly, the Bakassi peninsula, which was part of Kamerun/Cameroon since 1913, as inherited in the League of Nations mandate after the World War 1, was also excised from co-administration with the eastern region along with the rest of the southern Camerouns at that time.

According to the Nigeria Gazette, No 53, volume 41, B389-408, there was no evidence that anyone made an issue of the matter then.

THE PLEBISCITE

On February 11th and 12th 1961, a plebiscite was held to ”clarify the wishes of the people living in Northern and Southern Camerouns ”. The population of Northern Camerouns had earlier - in 1959 - ”decided to achieve independence by joining the independent Federation of Nigeria”, while the population of Southern Camerouns, whose plebiscite could not be done in 1959 for security reasons, now ”decided to achieve independence by joining the independent Republic of Cameroun”.

In October 1961, therefore, following the UN plebiscite of February 11th, the Southern Camerouns (including the Bakassi peninsula) was federated with the Republic of Cameroun, while the Northern Cameroun joined Nigeria. Thus, by default, and by plebiscite, the Nigeria-Cameroun boundary in the south - as described by the Section F of the Legal Notice 126 of 1954-58 - and clearly marked with resurveyed 1913 beacons, reverted to the old Anglo-German border which antedated Nigeria‘s amalgamation.

Cameroun reacted unfavourably to it and even went to the ICJ to file a complaint that voting was irregular. However, the complaint was not sustained.

Nevertheless, Nigeria, perhaps not wanting to rock the boat, and having successfully staved of Cameroun‘s challenge to the northern Cameroun plebiscite, voted at the UN to approve the results of the southern Cameroun‘s plebiscite, oblivious to certain subtle issues of legality.

THE DISPUTE

Over time, both Nigeria and Cameroun continued the dispute on the ownership of Bakassi for many years, leading to considerable tension between the two countries. This came to a climax in 1981 when the two countries got to the brink of war over Bakassi and another area around Lake Chad, at the other end of the two countries‘ common border.

On May 16, 1981, Nigerian soldiers in three canoes were ambushed and killed by Camerounian soldiers. Nigeria said the incident took place on the Akpa Yafe (along the 1913 border) while Cameroun said it took place on the Rio del Rey deep inside Cameroun on the other side of the peninsula. Eventually, on July 20, 1981, Cameroun apologised, based presumably on Nigeria‘s insistence that its soldiers were on Akpa Yafe.

More armed clashes broke out in the early 1990s. In response, Cameroon took the matter to the ICJ on 29 March 1994, for final determination by the world court.

Legal opinions became diverse, requiring the court to review diplomatic exchanges dating back to over 100 years. Nigeria relied largely on Anglo-German correspondence dating from 1885 as well as treaties between the colonial powers and the indigenous rulers in the area, particularly the 1884 Treaty of Protection. Cameroun, on its part, insisted on the Anglo-German treaty of 1913, which defined spheres of control in the region, as well as two agreements signed in the 1970s between Cameroun and Nigeria. These were the Yaoundé II Declaration of 4 April1971 and the Maroua Declaration of 1 June 1975, which were devised to outline maritime boundaries between the two countries following their independence. The line was drawn through the Cross River estuary to the west of the peninsula, thereby implying Camerounian ownership over Bakassi. However, Nigeria never ratified the agreement, while Cameroun regarded it as being in force.

ICJ verdict

The ICJ delivered its judgment on 10 October, 2002, that sovereignty over Bakassi did indeed rest with Cameroun. It instructed Nigeria to transfer possession of the peninsula, but did not require the inhabitants to move or to change their nationality. Cameroun was thus given a substantial Nigerian population and was required to protect their rights, infrastructure and welfare.

The verdict caused discontent in Nigeria. It aroused vitriolic comments from Nigerian officials and the Nigerian media alike. A former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Richard Akinjide, who had been a leading member of Nigeria‘s legal team, described the decision as ”50 per cent international law and 50 per cent international politics”.

POST-VERDICT MEDIATION

The ICJ judgment was endorsed by the United Nations, whose charter potentially allowed sanctions or even the use of force to enforce the court‘s ruling. Former UN SecretaryGeneral, Mr. Kofi Annan, stepped in as a mediator and chaired a tripartite summit with the two countries‘ presidents on 15 November 2002, which established a commission to facilitate the peaceful implementation of the ICJ‘s judgement. A further summit was held on 31 January, 2004. This has made significant progress, but the process has been complicated by the opposition of Bakassi‘s inhabitants to being transferred to Cameroun.

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY‘S POSITION

The Senate resolved on November 22, 2007 that the hand over of Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun was illegal. The lawmakers argued that the Green Tree Agreement, ceding the area to Cameroun, was contrary to Section 12 (1) of the 1999 Constitution.

THE EXECUTIVE DECISION

The President Yar‘Adua administration, howvere plans to hand the final parts of Bakassi over to Cameroun on 14 August 2008 as planned. This is in spite of a court order, which ruled that it should be delayed until all accomodations for resettled citizens of the area had been provided. Government, in an apparent determination, has set the necessary mechanisms into motion. Already, fishermen displaced from Bakassi had been settled in a landlocked area called New Bakassi. But many of them claim that the place is more suitable for farmers and not fishermen who are in the majority.

Nigerian military position

Military authorities in the country are however not well disposed to the handover. The military has told the National Assembly of the security implication of the Green Tree Agreement. According to the military top brass, the country‘s naval warships could only operate to a certain level in the Calabar Estuary, following the treaty.

Chief of Defence Staff, General Owoye Azazi, and the Director, Training, Nigerian Defence Headquarters, Commodore Dele Izioba, painted a picture of how the movement of the nation‘s naval warships in and out of Calabar waterway would be encumbered if the relevant provisions of the GTA were not revisited.

GREEN TREE AGREEMENT

The GTA, which was dated June 12, 2006 and entered into by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Camerounian President Paul Biya, had transferred the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun.

The UN stand

The United Nations, which facilitated the pact between the two countries on the transfer of Bakassi, in its weekly calendar released on Saturday, said it was eagerly waiting for Thursday‘s ”final transfer of authority in the Bakassi Peninsula from Nigeria to Cameroun, in implementation of the 2002 ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the 2006 Green Tree Agreement.”

In an earlier statement, the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, said that as facilitators of the Green Tree Accord, the UN would observe the transfer by sending a senior delegation to the event.

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