Senate probes crisis between Nigeria, Cameroon ceding

The Nigerian Senate, on Tuesday at plenary, mandated its Committee on States and Local Governments to comprehensively look into the on-going boundary demarcation between Cameroon and some communities in Cross River State and report back to it within two weeks for further legislative action.

Senate took the decision based on a motion brought to its floor by Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba. The motion was entitled, 'Impending Border Crises between Nigeria and Cameroon in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River'.

Ndoma-Egba, in his lead debate, drew the attention of the Senate to the recent activities of the Joint Technical Team, a sub-body of the Nigeria-Cameroon Mixed Commission, mandated to undertake extensive fieldwork to trace, ascertain and reinforce the boundary points between the two countries.

The Senate Leader expressed concern that the team went to the villages of Danare and Bianjua in Boki, Central Senatorial District of Cross River State, aided by Nigerian soldiers to arbitrarily enforce demarcation of the boundary between the two countries in that sector.

He further observed with concern that on the two occasions the exercise was attempted in the area, there was no representation from Cross River State in the UN team led by a Zimbabwean national, Paul Mbaya. Ndoma-Egba revealed that at the moment, Cameroonian security forces are guarding their border communities but there is no security presence on the Nigerian side.

The Senate Leader, who represents Cross River Central on the platform of PDP, recalled that on October 10, 2002, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), to which Nigeria had subjected itself, gave judgment in the matter of the land and maritime boundary dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon.

He regretted that the ICJ, in its verdict, awarded ownership of Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon in spite of a strong historical, cultural and legal arguments put forward by Nigeria, a decision that has been trailed by much controversy to this day.