Probe the killings in Bakassi
Reports that ninety seven Nigerians were killed by Cameroon gendarmes when they allegedly attacked residents of Bakassi over failure to pay N100,000 boat levy is alarming to say the least. Reports further said the attackers sacked mainly Nigerians from Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Ondo states. Many others escaped at midnight with their fishing boats […]
Reports that ninety seven Nigerians were killed by Cameroon gendarmes when they allegedly attacked residents of Bakassi over failure to pay N100,000 boat levy is alarming to say the least. Reports further said the attackers sacked mainly Nigerians from Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Ondo states. Many others escaped at midnight with their fishing boats and arrived at Ikang in Bakassi and Ibaka in Akwa Ibom. Even though this remains within the realm of allegation pending full investigation, it is worrisome that since the formal transfer of the territory to Cameroon on 14 August, 2008, Bakassi people are still not yet fully settled.
The House of Representatives brought up the issue and mandated its Committee on Foreign Affairs to investigate and report back. The ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in October 2002 gave the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon, which up to that time was de facto Nigerian territory. However there was an agreement to implement the court ruling called Green Tree Agreement in 2005. There have been gradual phases such as the UN Office for West Africa, which headed the Nigeria-Cameroon Mixed Commission and the Follow Up Committee to monitor implementation of the Green Tree Agreement. They assisted the countries to demarcate land and maritime boundaries.
There are some conditions that Cameroon should abide by in its treatment of Nigerians in the peninsula such as, it should not force Nigerian nationals living in the Bakassi Peninsula to leave the zone or to change their nationality; respect their culture, language and beliefs; respect their right to continue their agricultural and fishing activities; protect their property and their customary land rights; not levy in any discriminatory manner any taxes and other dues on Nigerian nationals living in the zone; and take every necessary measure to protect Nigerian nationals living in the zone from any harassment or harm.
But it is a sad commentary that after all those years, the Bakassi people are in a dilemma of their status. Many of them are now Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Cross River State with the Federal Government not doing much for them.
Governor of Cross River State Professor Ben Ayade said in March this year while receiving the Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced persons (IDPs) Hajiya Sadiya Umar Faruk that no human being deserved to live under such conditions as at the IDP camps in Bakassi. He said, “As I watch them scratch their skin in pains, as I see the difficulty for them to access water coupled with the loss of their main source of livelihood, let me say that until there is a psychological and emotional redemption, the people will know no peace.”
This entire problem may not be unconnected with the Senate’s rejection of the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon since the Green Tree Agreement was contrary to Section 12(1) of the 1999 Constitution. The Federal Government should take up this matter seriously, investigate and establish the number of casualties. Then it should take appropriate action. It may however be handicapped since there is a gap in the implementation of the Green Tree Agreement which was supposed to be domesticated by the National Assembly but regrettably not.
Even if the government sees Cameroon’s action as unreasonable, it has to work out the issues first. There should be a proper framework for Nigeria and Cameroon to address the problem. The Green Tree Agreement may have successfully achieved boundary demarcations but it has not solved the most important issue, which is the status of the human beings in the peninsula. If indeed 97 Nigerians were recently killed by gendarmes in Bakassi, this episode could unravel the whole peaceful agreement. All the stakeholders including the United Nations must sit down and review the implementation process of the agreement. It is time to end the suffering of the Bakassi people whose fate was decided by boundaries drawn on pieces of paper.