Bakassi is a peninsula on the Gulf of Guinea. It lies between the Cross River estuary, near the city of Calabar in the west, and the Rio del Ray estuary on the east. It is governed by Cameroon, following the transfer of sovereignty from neighbouring Nigeria as a result of a judgment by the International Court of Justice.On 22 November 2007, the Nigerian Senate rejected the transfer, since the Greentree Agreement ceding the area to Cameroon was contrary to Section 12(1) of the 1999 Constitution.Regardless, the territory was transferred to Cameroon on 14 August 2008.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakassi
Due to population growth, which was once put at between 150,000 and 300,000 people, and the attendant increase in human activities on the two sides, the boundary that existed between the two countries became hazy.

Over time, the ownership of this area, said to be very rich in diverse mineral resources, soon became an issue of conflict between Nigeria and Cameroon. While Nigeria argued that it had been in possession of the area in dispute and that its citizens were predominant in the area, Cameroon maintained that regardless of who had been in occupation, the land had belonged to it since the colonial era. It added that the British ceded Bakassi to Germany through the Anglo-German agreement of 1913 and that Germany ceded it to France and then France ceded same to it (Cameroon).

The conflict strained the relationship between Nigeria and Cameroon severely, to the extent that there were military confrontations between the two countries. Few years after, precisely in 1994, Cameroon took the matter, among other issues, to the International Court of Criminal Justice, also known as the World Court, at The Hague, for adjudication.

The matter was in that court for eight years, and at the end, the court ruled on October 10, 2002 that Bakassi belonged to Cameroon, relying on evidence available, especially the Anglo-German agreement. This decision did not go down well with Nigeria, prompting the United Nations to set up the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, so as to avoid further confrontations or even war between the two countries. In 2008, after series of dialogue, President Olusegun Obasanjo officially ceded Bakassi to Cameroon by signing the Green Tree Agreement produced by the commission.

Interestingly, a Nigerian, Prince Bola Ajibola, was one of the 17 judges who presided over the matter at the World Court, and he also led the delegation of Nigeria to that commission. Prince Ajibola, who is 82 years old now, tells TUNDE AJAJA in this interview about their sitting at The Hague and other issues about Bakassi
It’s been 14 years since the International Court of Justice gave the judgement that ceded Bakassi to Cameroon and you happened to be one of the judges that adjudicated on the matter. What comes to your mind when you remember that episode?

Let us thank God and people with conscience and good understanding that Nigeria handled the matter the way it did. And I thank God that I played that singular role for Nigeria. In my life, I won’t forget it; never. When I look at some activities going on in Nigeria now, I keep congratulating myself from within. I’m not in the habit of relaying it or playing back the record, because it was a terrible time; an unfortunate time, but I did my best as a true and conscientious, reasonable Nigerian, saving this nation. I had that opportunity of saving this nation and I did.

Some people feel Nigeria should not have lost that case because it had been in occupation of that land for long and a number of the residents there are Nigerians. What made Nigeria to lose that case?
All the documents and evidence before the court were all pointing to the ownership of that place as being part of Cameroon. Also, our people in Nigeria had also said that we did not own Bakassi. In fact, our then Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Teslim Elias, also made a statement that Bakassi was not part of Nigeria. That was our own minister. But even before our minister said that, Jaja Wachuku, who was then our Foreign Affairs minister, already said it two years after we got our independence; 1962, that Bakassi was part and parcel of Cameroon. They had all said so, but that was not all. Our maps all indicated that all that area of Bakassi was not part of Nigeria. It was after Cameroon had taken the matter to court and we had already started going to court that we changed our map. The original map that we had about that area was carved into Cameroon. So, those were also issues. Years ago, Germany bought that part of Bakassi and when the land was being partitioned, after taking care of Germany out of the whole enclave, it fell into the hand of France and France ceded it to Cameroon. That was it, and that was part of what was contained in the judgement that was given in favour of Cameroon at that time. But a lot of all those were argued in favour of Nigeria, against Cameroon, when I wrote my dissenting judgement.
People have also expressed some concern that the part Nigeria lost to Cameroon is an oil-rich region. Isn’t that painful?

It is all nonsense to say that Nigeria lost to Cameroon. What did Nigeria lose to Cameroon? According to the Latin phrase, ‘Nemo dat quod non habet,’ meaning you cannot lose what you don’t have. Bakassi was never yours. Your own people like those I mentioned earlier said it wasn’t yours. Why should you take to yourself what does not belong to you. But apart from all that, if you look at my judgement, I still argued with a case from Burkina Faso, which came to our court, and relying on that, I said having the possession should be able to confer on us the ownership of that part of Cameroon. Quite seriously speaking, that wasn’t an opinion shared by all the other judges of the court. It was just a minority position and that was why it was a dissenting judgement.
https://www.google.com.ng/amp/punchng.com/ceding-bakassi-cameroon-saved-nigeria-major-war-ajibola-former-world-court-judge/amp/
Obasanjo conspired with these particular judges and thereby cede bakassi to cameroun in order to deprived the southerners from too much glory. Cameroon thereby reciprocates by placing obasanjo on lifetime commissions, which mean Cameroon will be paying obasanjo every month for ceding bakassi to them. I don't no why yorubas are so much jealous of the niger delta, God has blessed us, don't hate just stay and tapp the glory from us. Mind you, we will claim back our land when we finally get our niger delta republic.

ffggt

Hmmm