Bakassi handover 'on track'

2008-08-01 18:10

Abuja - Nigeria's scheduled August 14 handover of the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon remains on track, despite a court order to delay the move, the president's office says.

"Our country has a commitment to handover the peninsula by August 14 and so far nothing has changed," said presidential spokesperson Olusegun Adeniyi.

"If there are legal hurdles, the president is fully committed to addressing those hurdles so that the handover can go on as planned," he told AFP late on Thursday.

He added: "Nigeria will not abandon its sovereign responsibilities and international obligations."

Acting on a petition by eight Nigerian residents of Bakassi, federal court judge Mohammed Umar ruled in Nigeria's capital Abuja that all parties in the case maintain the status quo, pending another court hearing on October 20.

But Adeniyi said President Umaru Yar'Adua has already directed his justice minister "to file the necessary motions to overturn the ruling".

Yar'Adua said last week that Nigeria was "fully committed to a successful handover" on August 14.

The so-called Green Tree agreement was signed in New York on June 12 2006 during US-facilitated mediation talks between Nigeria and Cameroon in the presence of then UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

It followed a 2002 ruling by the International Court of Justice in The Hague that awarded the disputed territory to Cameroon, ending a drawn-out legal battle.

A 1 000km² patch of coastal swamp jutting out into the North Atlantic, Bakassi is believed to contain considerable oil and gas reserves as well as rich fishing grounds.

Status quo

Doubts about Nigeria's commitment to the handover arose from a row in the federal parliament over accusations that former president Olusegun Obasanjo acted unilaterally in agreeing the deal.

Reacting to Thursday's court ruling, Bassey U Bassey, an official in the legal department of Cross River state, which borders Cameroon, said the decision to maintain the status quo was pointless.

"This order is not capable of being obeyed because this court cannot sit as an appellate court on the judgment of the International Court of Justice in The Hague," he said.

The plaintiffs' lawyer, Kayode Fasetire, said the legal action was not intended to challenge the judgment of ICJ, but rather focused on the modalities of its implementation.

"We know that we are bound by the judgment of the ICJ," he said.

"The presidency did not submit the Green Tree Agreement to the National Assembly for ratification while the legislature also failed in its oversight functions to call the president to order."

- SAPA