The Bakassi पेनिन्सुला-न्यू Items

The Bakassi Peninsula is a stretch of land that juts into the Gulf of Guinea,an area which may contain about 10 percent of the world's oil and gas reserves.The area is also rich in fish.About 90 percent of the people living in this area are Nigerian fishermen and following the agreement between the Cameroonian and Nigerian government,were given the option of staying in Bakassi under Cameroonian rule or being relocated to the Nigerian territory.It is worth noting that despite all the promises that have been made the Nigerian government had not provided any relocation area for its countrymen living in the Bakassi area.

On Monday the 9 of June 2008 there was report of unidentified gunmen abducting a Cameroonian envoy of 9 who were conducting a boating manoeuvre in the Bakassi area.The Sous-Prefect from Kombo,Mr. Felix Morfan was taken hostage together with 8 other men from the security and police services.Three of the police officers managed to escape.This information is coming in, after another incident that happened in the area in November 2007 resulting in the death of about 21 Cameroon military men who were in the area for peace keeping purposes.The Nigerian government claimed that they had nothing to do with the attacks and offered their full cooperation in investigating the incident.So far there has been no official story from either the Cameroonian nor the Nigerian government about what led to the death of the 21 Cameroonian soldiers.All we have been getting here in Cameroon is speculation, including an allegation that the military people were involved in an arm sales deal that went wrong.

The Bakassi Peninsula is an area rich in oil and fish resources and that has been the root cause of the problem.Cameroon and Nigeria have been involved in bloody clashes in the area dating back to 1981 and during the 1990s.Nigerians claim that Bakassi has been under their rule since independence in 1960.The Cameroonian claim is based on maps since the colonial area that have shown the area clearly as Cameroonian territory.After a series of conflicts in 1994 and 1996, Cameroon took the matter to the Hague,in order for the International Court of Justice to decide.After years of fact finding the ICJ decided that the Bakassi Peninsula belong to Cameroon.The decision was unpopular in Nigeria and then President Olusegun Obasanjo said he would not accept the ruling.A UN intervention followed, with a commission set up and headed by then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to try and resolve the matter.Meeting in New York on the 13 of June 2006, an agreement was signed between then President Obasanjo of Nigeria and President Paul Biya of Cameroon(The Green Peace Agreement)whereby Nigeria agreed to pull their troops out of the area within 60 days of the agreement.On August 14 2006,3000 Nigerian troops began withdrawing from the Northern part of Bakassi.A ceremony marking the handing over of the territory was held on August 14 2006 in the fishing town of Archiborg.The ceremony,coming four years after the ICJ ruling saw the Nigerian flag being lowered while the Cameroonian flag was raised to mark the beginning of Cameroonian rule.It of worth nothing that only the Northern part of the Bakassi region had been handed over.The rest of the territory is to be handed over within a two year time frame.Nigerian inhabitants in the Bakassi area are very unhappy with the handing over of the territory to Cameroon and some have vowed to fight(calling on the assistance from militants in the Nigeria Niger Delta area)to help then in their course.Also on November 2007 the Nigerian Senate declared illegal the ruling to cede the Bakassi territory to Cameroon,claiming the National Assembly was not consulted before the agreement was signed.Newly elected Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has visited Cameroon since his term of office started in May 2007 and reiterated his support of the ICJ ruling and the Green Peace agreement signed by his predecessor President Olusegun Obasanjo.

On Saturday the 14 of June 2008,on a press release by the Government of the Republic of Cameroon,CRTV(the national radio&television station)announced that the six people that were kidnapped on Monday the 9 of June,including the Sous Prefect were found dead with their bodies riddle with gun bullets.
There are rich natural resources in the Bakassi area but it looks like the area is also going to be a problem for Cameroon. First, about a week ago there was another attack in the area with four military men being injured. On the 24 of July though, there was an announcement from the military of defense claiming of a fight between rebels forces in the region and the militarymen that the government has deplored in the area. Two dead Cameroonians solders, four injured and evacuated to the Douala local hospital. Also there were ten rebel forces killed and 8 of them capture together with some of their ammunitions. The Cameroonian government has already seeked the assistance of the French government in preparation for further trouble in the region.