CAMEROON-NIGERIA: Pro-Nigerian protesters meet UN team in Bakassi

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

LAGOS, 26 Feb 2004 (IRIN) - Thousands of Nigerian residents of the Bakassi Peninsula protested to a United Nations team visiting the disputed territory this week that they did not want to be handed over to Cameroon.

Eyewitnesses said men, women and children turned out in large numbers on Tuesday as the delegation arrived, waving placards denouncing a 2002 ruling by the International Court of Justice in the Hague which awarded the potentially oil rich territory to Cameroon.

The swampy Bakassi Peninsula is inhabited by an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people, the overwhelming majority of whom want to remain Nigerian.

"For us the inhabitants of Bakassi, whose opinion had never been sought, it was an opportunity to be heard," Etuk Ubong, a resident of Abana, the peninsula's main town, told IRIN. "And we€™ve made our point as clearly as possible."

Protestors carried placards reading "We reject the ICJ Judgement of Injustice" and "We are Nigerians and will fight to remain so with the last drop of our blood."

The UN team which visited Bakassi formed part of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission set up by UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, to implement the International Court ruling on a long-running border dispute between both countries. It was visiting the peninsula for the first time.

The Guardian newspaper quoted Oumar Viarrah, the leader of the UN team, as saying the delegation was concerned about the rights of the populations affected by the world court ruling.

However, Sylvie Daouda, the official spokeswoman for the Mixed Commission, was not available for comment.

The dispute over the 1,000 sq km Bakassi Peninsula brought Nigeria and Cameroon closed to war in 1981. In late 1993, Nigerian troops occupied most of the territory, prompting Cameroon to file a complaint at the International Court of Justice in 1994.

In its ruling, the court said that the peninsula, which extends into the oil-rich waters of the Gulf of Guinea, belonged to Cameroon. It based its decision on a 1913 pact between former the colonial powers Germany and Britain.

The ruling - which was meant to end an eight-year legal battle between the two countries - was initially rejected by Nigeria on the grounds that the interests of its citizens who had lived in the peninsula for centuries and make up more than 90 percent of its population, were not considered.

However, it later agreed to abide by the judgement, providing the interests of Nigerians living in Bakassi were protected.

In November 2002, Annan invited presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Paul Biya of Cameroon to a meeting in Geneva, where they agreed to seek a peaceful resolution of the dispute. Subsequently the Mixed Commission was set up.

On Wednesday, the UN team visited the Obong of Calabar, the traditional rule of the Bakassi Peninsula, at his home in the Nigerian town of Calabar.

[ENDS]