Cameroon Takes Bakassi Peninsula With Heavy Security

BARELY 24 hours to the expiration
of the window of opportunity to appeal against
the International court of Justice, ICJ, ruling that
ceded the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to
Cameroon in October 10, 2002, there are influx
of stern looking men believed to be security
operatives from Cameroon
The increased presence of security operatives
from Cameroon according to Nigerian Sources
at the island was to ensure that the country
takes absolute control of the area following
Nigeria's failure to appeal against the judgment
or call for a review.
The Sources also claimed that in the past few
weeks, Nigerian indigenes resident at the
disputed island have not been able to reach at
their relations in Nigeria through phone calls,
while the Cameroon government had infiltrated
families of Nigerians at the area causing
division among them.
A highly placed Bakassi Local Government
Council official who spoke with Vanguard on
condition of anonymity alleged that some
Nigerians doing business at the Peninsula had
complained of harassment by the Cameroon
security agents.
The official also said that there had been many
strange faces suspected to be security
personnel coming in groups in preparation of
taking complete control of the place.
Meanwhile, President of Academic Staff Union
of Universities, Dr. Nasir Isa has said that
Nigeria made a mistake in handling the matter
and that the federal government also made a
great mistake by committing herself to hand
over Bakassi to Cameroon, adding that children
in Bakassi have the right to decide where to
belong.
Also commenting over the federal government
refusal to appeal against the ICJ ruling, the
governorship candidate on the platform of Hope
Democratic Party, HDP, in the February 25,
2012 elections in Cross River State, Dr. Theo
Onyuku said that the tragedy, the pains and the
subterfuge of the loss of Bakassi Peninsula to
Cameroon following an unenforceable ICJ ruling
will forever hunt the Nigeria nation.
Onyuku who is a medical consultant turned
politician alleged that, "The ignoble,
irresponsible, deceitful and self-serving roles of
former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the
former Cross River State governor, Mr. Donald
Duke and all the elected and appointed leaders
of Cross River extraction will hunt them to their
graves.
"In 2006, before the first phase of hand over of
Bakassi to Cameroon, we warned against the
dire consequences of ceding the territory to
Cameroon without recourse to the national
assembly, the dire security and socio-economic
implications, but the PDP leaders in the state
branded us as faceless opposition group.
"Today they are now shouting. Have we
forgotten that the self-acclaimed Mama Bakassi
was the special adviser President Obasanjo on
national assembly, what did she do for the, she
suddenly became blind, deaf and dumb.
"She was active in the seat of power, she did
nothing and betrayed the Bakassi people to
secure her job and today she is protesting, what
an apostate.
"Ex Governor Duke traded off the island for a
selfish presidential ambition. Why, Obasanjo
ceded Bakassi unconstitutionally in obedience to
a useless Green Tree Agreement because he
wanted international support for his third term
gambit and noble prize for peace," he alleged.

Source vanguard