BAKASSI PENINSULA HANDOVER (AUG 14 2008)

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NIGERIA 14 August 2008 Objecting Nigeria due to hand over Bakassi Peninsula. War on horizon?
Nigeria is due to hand over the disputed oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon in line with a World Court ruling and withdraw from the territory on Aug 14, but the deal is under fire. Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo signed the so-called Green Tree Agreement with Cameroon President Paul Biya, but the Nigerian parliament hasn't ratified it. There are predictions the dispute will lead to war.
As reported in the Nigerian publication Leadership, the Chief of Defence Staff for Nigeria, General Owoye Azazi, complained that Obasanjo did not consult the military before making the deal, and he predicted a war over the peninsula. The military chief also said ceding Bakassi to Cameroon was not in the interest of Nigeria's security as the area would take over the deep marine routes, leaving Nigeria with shallow waters which cannot be navigated.
There is an ongoing insurgency in the adjoining Niger Delta that threatens to spread to the Bakassi Peninsula -- with or without a Cameroon takeover. Ethnic minorities of the region are said to be unhappy that the ethnic majorities in the Nigerian and Cameroon governments are deciding their fate in a way that is not in the region's interests. The Bakassi inhabitants are also said to fear forced relocation if the deal is realized.
France could be drawn into the war, should it break out, as it has a defence treaty with Cameroon. Jul/08
RELATED READING:
Nigeria: War imminent over Bakassi (Leadership/AllAfrica 17 Jul 2008)http://allafrica.com/stories/200807170436.html
Nigeria gunmen attack Cameroon patrol on border (Reuters 22 Jul 2008)http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL22834120.html
Tension over Bakassi Penninsula (ISN 21 Jul 2008)http://by102w.bay102.mail.live.com/mail/mail.aspx?&n=1484376789

Bakassi Peninsula handover
Nigeria is due to hand over the disputed oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon in line with a World Court ruling and withdraw from the territory on Aug 14, but the deal is under fire. Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo signed the so-called Green Tree Agreement with Cameroon President Paul Biya, but the Nigerian parliament hasn't ratified it. There are predictions the dispute will lead to war.
Bakassi Peninsula handover
Bakassi Peninsula handover, Bakassi Peninsula transfer, Nigeria, Cameroon, World Court ruling, Green Tree Agreement, President Paul Biya, Olusegun Obasanjo , Cameroon President Paul Biya, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo , Nigeria news, Africa news, African news, Cameroon news
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