Members of the house of representatives have initiated a move to stop the take-over of some Cross River communities by Cameroon.
The lawmakers who are trying to halt ceding of Danare and Biajua communities in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State of Nigeria through Pillar 113A to the Republic of Cameroon, invited the Director General of the National Boundary Commission, Mr. Adamu Adaj and Surveyor General of the Federation, Adebomehin A. Adeyemi to answer questions on the pillar 113A following a motion moved by Hon. Victor Bisong Abang and 8 others on Wednesday, July 5.
While presenting his motion, Abang noted that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on October 10, 2002, ruled that the proprietorship of the Bakassi peninsula belonged to Cameroon, due to an agreement between the governments of Nigeria and Cameroon during the civil war.
He said;
“In July 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that Cross River State had no right of ownership of over 76 oil wells due to the loss of its littoral status when portions of the peninsula were ceded to Cameroon by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the apex court
stated that Cross River State no longer had maritime territory and consequently could not claim offshore oil wells.
“The ICJ ruling decides the retracing of the Cameroon-Nigeria International Boundary line from the Lake Chad region (Yola) to the Atlantic Ocean (Bakassi), subsequently United Nations (UN) set up two Committees to implement the judgment which led to the establishment of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission (CNMC), made up of representatives from Nigeria, Cameroon and officials of the United Nations.
“The Nigeria delegation was led by the Attorney General of the Federation while Cameroon was represented by the Deputy Prime Minister.
“The fieldwork which involves the location of the boundary points and placement of boundary pillars by the judgment was undertaken by a Joint Technical Team (JTT), a sub-body of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, with both countries’ representatives on the JTT while technical expertise is supplied by a foreign contractor and paid by the CNMC.”
The lawmaker also said that if urgent actions were not taken by the federal government, the entire country will lose the good people of Danare, Biajua in Boki LGA, and some parts of Obanliku LGA of Cross River.
Abang added;
“The field exercise or demarcation conducted by the JTT must be an adopted demarcation in any sector considered valid and conclusive by the CNMC.
“The Anglo-German agreement clearly states that the contextual pillar 113A is 9.6 Km from pillar 113 into the forest leading to pillar 114 that fall in Agbokim in Etung Local Government Area.
“The JTT has not located pillar 113A and not tracing pillar 113A they are planning to adopt a straight-line method and which would lead to losing Danare and Biajua communities and about 7,000–10,000 hectares of land in the Boki Area of Cross Rivers State to the Republic of Cameroon.
“The ICJ judgment adopted the Anglo-German boundary of 1913 as the boundary between the two countries, the job of the CNMC through the JTT, therefore, was to locate this boundary and reinforce it for certainty. under the principles of federalism,
natural justice, and equity, the Federal Government has the responsibility to protect the territorial integrity of all federating units, and not unilaterally cede, sell, mortgage, or allocate any part of a federating unit to another country without the consent of the House.
“The lack of concerted effort by the JTT to trace a critical pillar point that will determine the correct boundary line has generated controversy. It is a worrisome situation, that even when the team understands that they are lacking in their assignment because a
critical pillar is yet to be retraced, instead of the team going back and doing the needful, they decided to propose a straight-line projection to close the gap between pillar 113 to 114.
“If urgent actions are not taken by the federal government the entire country will lose the good people of Danare, Biajua in Boki LGA, and some parts of Obanliku LGA of Cross River State to the Republic of Cameroon.
“Cross River State may lose the good people of Danare and Biajua Communities in Boki LGA, and their ancestral heritage of the land that they have protected all their lives to the Republic of Cameroon against their wishes and desires.
“The missing pillar 113A may have been deliberately removed by the Cameroonian government in their plot to take over the land and the people of Danare and Biajua communities, that if a country like Nigeria keeps losing her people, lands, and natural and mineral resources to her neighbouring countries, one day we may not have a place called Nigeria.”
Deputy speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu who presided over the house, adopted the motion and also urged Cameroon- Nigeria mixed Commission to report the Anglo-German agreement of 1913 as adopted by the ICJ by tracing and maintaining the original location of the pillar 113A in the forest.