BNW

 

Biafra Nigeria World News & Archives

 

BNW News and Archives

 

 

BNW: the Authority on BiafraNigeria

BNW Magazine 

Biafra Nigeria World Forums and Message Board

 BNW News Archive

BNW Home

 

BNW Writer's Block

 WaZoBia @ BNW

Biafra Net

 Igbo Net

Africa World and BNW Africa 

Submit Article for Publication

BiafraNigeria Spacer

BiafraNigeria Spacer

 

Flag of Biafra Nigeria

 

BNW News Archives

BNW News Archive 2002-January 2005

BNW News Archive 2005

BNW News Archive 2005 and Later

 

BiafraNigeriaWorld News: Weblogs Edition @ Blog Continent


« IBB offered MKO assistance to contest, says Enahoro | Main | South Korea 2-1 Togo »

June 13, 2006

Nigeria agrees Bakassi handover

Nigeria has agreed to hand over the oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon in a deal brokered by the United Nations to resolve a tense dispute.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan hosted the talks in New York, which follow a 2002 World Court ruling.

Thousands of Nigerians and a sizeable military force remain in Bakassi. The troops are to leave within 60 days.

The territorial dispute sparked military clashes between the two neighbours during the 1990s.

The deal was reached by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and his Cameroonian counterpart, Paul Biya.

African model

"Our agreement today is a great achievement in conflict prevention, which practically reflects its cost effectiveness when compared to the alternative of conflict resolution," Mr Obasanjo said.


"It should represent a model for the resolution of similar conflicts in Africa and... in the world at large."

Mr Annan said that under the terms of the deal, the Nigerian troops could be given an extra 30 days to withdraw.

Bakassi juts into the Gulf of Guinea - an area which may contain up to 10% of the world's oil and gas reserves.

It is also rich in fish.

Nigeria has always said it would abide by the ruling but in 2004 said that "technical difficulties" prevented it from handing over the peninsula.

Most of those who live in Bakassi are Nigerians and are strongly opposed to coming under Cameroonian jurisdiction.

Special regime

The United Nations special envoy for the Bakassi peninsula, Ahmadou Ould Abdullah, said he was optimistic that the agreement would be respected by Nigeria.

Mr Abdullah told the BBC's Network Africa programme that he believed the presence of the UN Secretary General and witnesses from Germany, France, Britain and the United States would help guarantee the agreement was met.

He said there would be a two-year transition period for the Nigerian administration to leave.

Nigerians living on the peninsula would be able to live there under a special regime for four years after Cameroon took control and could stay on after that if they wished.

The 2002 International Court of Justice ruling was based on a 1913 treaty between former colonial powers Britain and Germany.

The agreement also settles the border for 1,690km (1,056 miles) up to Lake Chad.

Some villages further north have already been exchanged.

Posted by Publisher at June 13, 2006 12:35 PM

Comments

Post a comment

Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)


Remember me?





BNW Writers A-M


BNW Writers N-Z

 

BiafraNigeria Banner

BiafraNigeria Spacer

 

BiafraNigeria Spacer

 

BiafraNigeria Spacer

 

BiafraNigeria Spacer

 

BiafraNigeria Spacer

 

BiafraNigeria Spacer

 

BiafraNigeria Spacer

 

BiafraNigeria Spacer

 

BiafraNigeria Spacer

 

BiafraNigeria Spacer

 

BiafraNigeria Spacer

 

BiafraNigeria Spacer

BiafraNigeria Spacer

 

BNW Forums

 

The Voice of a New Generation