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 journalists 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.