The House of Representatives has taken a stance to stop the ongoing plans to cede the Danare and Biajua communities in the Boki Local Government Area of Cross River through Pillar 113A to the Republic of Cameroon. 

This resolution followed a motion jointly sponsored by members of the Cross River caucus, who sought the house intervention.

Speaking on behalf of the Cross River caucus, Victor Abang (APC-Cross River) recalled that on October 10, 2002, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the Bakassi Peninsula belonged to Cameroon. The ruling was based on an agreement between the governments of Nigeria and Cameroon during the civil war.

Mr Abang also mentioned that in July 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that Cross River had no ownership rights over 76 oil wells due to the loss of its littoral status when portions of the peninsula were ceded to Cameroon by the federal government.

He explained that the ICJ ruling led to the retracing of the Cameroon-Nigeria International Boundary line from the Lake Chad region (Yola) to the Atlantic Ocean (Bakassi), and the United Nations (UN) subsequently established two committees to implement the judgement.

Mr Abang highlighted that the fieldwork involving the location of boundary points and placement of boundary pillars was undertaken by a Joint Technical Team (JTT), a sub-body of the CNMC. 

He expressed concern that the JTT had not located pillar 113A, and instead of retracing it, they planned to adopt a straight-line method, which would result in the loss of the Danare and Biajua communities. 

Approximately 7,000 to 10,000 hectares of land in the Boki area of Cross River were at risk of being ceded to the Republic of Cameroon, he said.

Mr Abang argued that under the principles of federalism, the federal government was responsible for protecting the territorial integrity of all federating units. 

He emphasised that the federal government should not unilaterally cede, sell, mortgage, or allocate any part of a federating unit to another country without the consent of the house.

The lawmaker raised suspicions that the missing pillar 113A may have been deliberately removed by the Cameroonian government in their plot to take over the land and the people of Danare and Biajua communities. 

He warned that if Nigeria continued to lose its people, lands, and resources to neighbouring countries, the country might face an uncertain future.

In response to the situation, the house resolved to invite the director general of the National Boundary Commission and the surveyor General of the Federation to explain why pillar 113A had not been found. 

Additionally, the house decided to investigate potential land encroachment by the Cameroonian government, consult with legal experts, land surveyors, and other relevant professionals, and establish an ad hoc committee for further legislative action.

(NAN)