14th August 2008

A flag-swapping ceremony will mark the handing over by Nigeria of the long disputed Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon today, despite a number of events intended to stall the handover.

In July a group of Bakassi rebels, self-described as the Niger Delta Defence and Security Council (NDDSC) claimed responsibility for an attack at Kombo Ajanea, in which 12 people died, including two Cameroonian soldiers and said that the change of sovereignty would not stifle further attacks. In a statement a “commander” for the group said that the handover would “not change anything on the ground” and threatened that more attacks would be imminent in the absence of a “renegotiation” of the transfer.

However a Nigerian government spokesman was more upbeat. Foreign Affairs Minister Ojo Madueke said in an interview last week that preparations were “in top gear” to make sure the handover was “hitch-free.” He added that while it was difficult for many Nigerians “to understand and grapple with this loss,” the government nonetheless believed that there was “a positive side to it,” and added "(It shows) we are a very responsible member of the international community, we are very law abiding and we honour our commitments.”

The Cameroonian government has reassured Nigerians living in Bakassi that they neither are obliged to give up their Nigerian citizenship, or to remain living in the peninsula. The Punch, “Nigeria’s most widely read newspaper” reported August 14 that the Nigerian Federal Government would be spending one billion naira on the creation of a New Bakassi Local Government area on the Nigerian side of the border, in order to accommodate Bakassi citizens wishing to relocate.

The particulars of the agreement between the two countries are contained in the Green Tree Agreement