Bakassi: Nigeria, Cameroon Reduce Disagreement Areas To 3

The Head of Nigeria’s delegation to the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission (CNMC) and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Mallami, has said the two countries have reduced major disagreement areas on the disputed Bakassi Peninsula and surrounding boundaries from 13 to three.

Malami stated this in Abuja on Thursday at the ongoing meeting of the 34th Session of the Mixed Commission between the two countries.

The Attorney General, who led the delegation at the 34th session of Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, attributed the success to the commitment of both countries and the chairman of the commission.

He said Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission handling the exercise has within its 20 years of commitment towards peace building, reduced the major disagreements between the two countries from 1e to three.

Nigeria’s AGF who hailed the efforts of the chairman of the mixed Commission, Mahamat Saleh, said the chairman has recorded tremendous achievements in pursuing the needed peace efforts.

The AGF said the commission’s conclusion on the pillar construction exercise of Lots six A, B, and C on the Atlantic Mountain was a milestone achievement in view of the difficulty in accessing the area.

“Mr. Chairman, it is to your credit that we have also improved the frequency of our meetings. We had the 33 sessions of the CNMC in November 2021 and here we are today having the 34th session barely just about a nine-month period of time.

“This is indeed a great achievement, compared to the about seven years period between 32nd and 33rd session, which indeed could only hold after a span of seven years,” Malami said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, the Director-General of the National Boundary Commission (NBC), Adamu Adaji, said the efforts were commendable and hoped that in no distant time the remaining areas of the disagreements would be resolved.

He said the session was for the commission to place pillars that would clearly define the boundaries between the duo countries.

According to Adaji, the commitment of the leaders of both countries to ensure peace has been the catalyst  behind the success achieved so far.

Others present at the meeting were the leader of the Cameroon delegation, Minister Zoah Michel; chairman of the Mixed Commission, Mahamat Saleh, among others.