The role of international law in conflict resolution. This was effected during the civilian administration of president. Implications of the bakassi conflict resolution for. Nigeria is one of the worlds largest oil producers and supplies the u. Bakassi peninsula, given the zones proximity and the behaviour of actors in. International court of justice and the secretarygenerals good offices offer a peaceful way to resolve. Bakassi people and the bakassi peninsulaa position statement.
A plebiscite is a universally wellrecognized binding legal arbitration mechanism used to settle border disputes, relying on the voice and choice of the people affected. The cameroonnigerian border conflict over the bakassi peninsula is a result of colonial negligence. At ordinary glance, one can be tempted to conclude like brownlie 1979, that the. In 1960, after the independence of both cameroon and nigeria the cameroonnigeria border between them was not settled and there were territorial disputes. Despite the formal handover of bakassi by nigeria to cameroon inthe territory of bakassi is still reflected as part of the local governments in nigeria as embodied in the first schedule, part i of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, annan said, with todays agreement on the bakassi peninsula, a comprehensive resolution of the dispute is within our grasp. Violence by rebel groups has disrupted oil production and reduced output by about 20%. Bakassi juts into the gulf of guinea, an area which may contain up to 10% of the worlds oil and gas reserves.
The population of bakassi is the subject of some dispute, but is generally put at between 150,000 and 3000,000 people. By george ngwane executive summary this paper examines a conceptual framework of international conflict dynamics and resolution surrounding the bakassi peninsula dispute between cameroon and nigeria and outlines intracommunity tensions after its peaceful resolution through the international court of justice icj verdict in 2002 and handing over of the bakassi peninsula to cameroon in 2008. The 700 sq km bakassi peninsula lies in the gulf of guinea, which is estimated to contain up to 10% of the worlds oil and gas reserves as well as being a rich fishing ground. Nigerias dilemma over bakassi peninsula post independence president of cameroon, ahmadou ahidjo, a fulani, like his kith and kin in northern. If the 3mile line had indeed followed the shore of the bakassi peninsula as the 19 treaty originally intended, the extension out to sea would have granted nigeria even more maritime territory. The heighten debate and bone of contention over the bakassi peninsular has evolve basically around. It lies between the cross river estuary, near the city of calabar in the west of the bight of biafra, and the rio del ray estuary on the east. This page was last edited on 5 novemberat retrieved 18 january nigeria began to withdraw its forces, comprising some 3, troops, beginning 1 augustand affaure ceremony on 14 august marked the formal handover of the northern part of the peninsula. The quest for bakassi peninsular babatola, jadesola e. Notably, the bakassi movement for selfsovereignty of the peninsula bmssp, this body was supported by the movement for the emancipation of the niger delta bbc, 2008. The bakassi peninsula is an extension of the calabar territory in nigeria that spreads into the atlantic ocean with latitude of 4 0 25 1 and 5 0 10 1 north of the equator and a longitude of 8 0 30. Roles are assigned to users and users having the defined role should be able to execute. Socioeconomic and cultural impacts of resettlement on.
History has documented gowon reneged on aburi agreement vanguard news nigeria fill in your details below or click an icon to log in. Yakubu gowon, ceded bakassi peninsula, which truly belonged to the present day cross river state of nigeria, during the civil war, so as to block arms and food. A zip codes, zip codes of all nigerian states, local governments areas lga, towns, districts, and streets. The nigerian government claimed the border as theirs due to british victory in the kamerun campaign. The bakassi peninsular consists of a number of lowlying, largely mangrove covered islands covering an area of around 665 km2 257 sq.
The bakassi conflict is an ongoing insurgency which started in 2006, in the bakassi peninsula of cameroon waged by local separatists against cameroonian government forces. We recommend that our bakassi people seek a plebiscite with the united nations. Pdf the international court of justice and borderconflict. The bakassi dispute and the international court of justice. The peninsula has been administered by nigeria since independence from britain in 1960. Department of history and international studies, ekiti state university, pmb 5363, adoekiti, ekiti state, 35001, nigeria email of the corresponding author. Ethnicity, economy and historical deconstruction in the bakassi borderland course african borderland history grade none author olukoya ogen author year 2012 pages 34 catalog number v190330 isbn ebook 9783656152088 isbn book 97836561522 file size 557 kb language english tags. Media in category bakassi the following 7 files are in this category, out of 7 total. In order to prepare the nigerian nationals living in the zone in question of the bakassi peninsula hereinafter the zone for the transfer of authority to cameroon, the zone shall temporarily be subject to a special status as laid down in this annex. That illicit trade resulted in the loss of the bakassi peninsula to cameroon. The challenges of conflict resolution in africa download. Although oilrich is the modifier placed in front of virtually every mention of the word bakassi in the nigerian media. An example would be netherlands vs belgium 1957 case, the beli river. Bakassi peninsula to claims and counterclaims for sovereignty, military occupation and.
Xviiixx and that sovereignty over the bakassi peninsula lay with cameroon. Bakassi peninsula because it is not part of the republic of cameroon. Maps from that period show bakassi peninsula in the cameroons, not the real nigeria. There are strident calls for the convocation of a sccord national conference. After many years of legal battle, cameroun won the claim over the land and nigeria was asked to immediately hand over the oilrich bakassi peninsula to cameroun. Clarke said this during an in an interview with our judiciary correspondent, shola soyele. In the singular case of the bakassi peninsula however, the peaceful outcome took a triangular form that involved bilateral negotiations, the show of arms, the international agencies and back to bilateral negotiations.
The historical background to nigeriacameroon bakassi peninsula dispute the bakassi peninsula is a peninsula endowed with oil and gas. It is governed by cameroon, following the transfer of sovereignty from neighbouring nigeria as a result of a judgment by the international court of justice. The nigerian government claimed the border was that prior to the britishgerman agreements in 19. In bakassi, the court decided that the boundary was delimited by the anglogerman agreement of 11 march 19 arts. Bakassi has never been part of nigeria robert clarke. Akwabana island bakassi point cape bakassi king point bakassi peninsula erong peninsula east point sandy point perry point a k w a y a f e a k w a y a f e a k w a b a. The cameroon and nigeria negotiation process over the contested. On august 2, 1946 britain divided the cameroons into two, called northern cameroons and southern. Bakassi peninsula like the hijacking of a nigeria cargo ship. The discovery of potential oil reserves in the waters surrounding the peninsula has only heightened tensions between the two countries. Neglect and subsequent discovery of oil deposits subjected the bakassi peninsula to claims and counterclaims for sovereignty, military occupation and recourse to the international court of justice icj. The united states shall advise the court no later than fourteen 14 days from entry of this order whether it intends to file a statement of interest in this action, and if so by what date such statement of interest shall be filed. Negotiations facilitated the creation of a favorable environment for dialogue and understanding.
The bakassi conflict is an ongoing insurgency over the bakassi peninsula. Local interests and boundaries were disregarded when colonial powers were partitioning africa. The bakassi peninsula has been a disputed piece of territory between nigeria and cameroon for decades and the source of several conflicts in 1981 and the early 1990s. Inventory of conflict and environment ice, bakassi peninsula. Bakassi in international politics download ebook pdf. A training manual on peace and conflict transformation. The international court of justice and borderconflict. August 2008 implementation of the decision on the handover of the bakassi peninsula by nigeria. Two weeks be f ore that time, a group calling itself.
Latest developments land and maritime boundary between. Mark osa igiehon on the 10th of october 2002 the international court of justice delivered the bakassi decision, which, amongst other things, excised the resource rich land and maritime territory of bakassi from. The icjs ruling in 2002 in favour of cameroon, although based on sound historical evidence, faced implementation difficulties. Nigeria had the opportunity to challenge that line at the icj since the line violated the 19 treaty.
Nigerias niger delta conflict, cameroons bakassi peninsula and. Please click button to get document on the bakassi peninsula border dispute book now. Bakassi peninsula and the challenges encountered on that tortuous. Pdf the dispute between nigeria and cameroon over the bakassi peninsula is a unique case, reflecting both the colonial and the modern thirst for oil find. Clarke said some legal practitioners who thought they could procure a false judgment led the country down the path of submitting to the jurisdiction of the world court. Pdf the cameroon and nigeria negotiation process over. Niger delta and bakassi peninsula indigenes in the gulf of guinea. Nigeria and cameroon have disputed ownership of the area for many years and whilst the underlying.
All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so dont worry about it. Implications of the bakassi conflict resolution for cameroon african. The international court of justice and borderconflict resolution in africa. How and why gowon ceded bakassi to cameroon politics. How and why gowon ceded bakassi to cameroon by enemybulldozerm. Bakassi peninsula dispute, especially since the case is solidly planted in historic treaties, which examination would reveal more treachery on the cameroun side than that of nigeria. Ethnicity, economy and historical deconstruction in the.
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