Senate has set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the illegal annexation of Nigerian mangrove islands at Efiat-Mbo by the Republic of Cameroon and to report back with necessary recommendations as directed by the Senate.
The establishment of the committee followed a motion filed by Senator Annekan Bassey, representing Akwa Ibom North East, along with several other senators, highlighting the urgent need to investigate the troubling situation.
Coming under Orders 41 and 51 of the Senate Standing Rules, Senator Annekan Bassey, while presenting the lead debate, asserted that the annexation of the area is entirely illegal because the land was not part of the territories ceded to the Government of Cameroon under the 1913 Anglo-German treaties or the International Court of Justice’s decision of October 2002.
He stated that this encroachment is not only unlawful but has also resulted in significant economic losses, including more than 2,360 oil wells and gas revenues that should rightfully accrue to Nigeria.
Bassey also stated, with deep concern, that it is a monumental national embarrassment that foreign laws are being imposed by Cameroonian gendarmes on Nigerians living in 16 ancestral villages and the mangrove islands.
The lawmaker further observed that the mangrove islands and waters located in the geographical area known as Efiat in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, which marks the terminal end of the Gulf of Guinea, are currently under the administrative control of the Republic of Cameroon.
He said these islands and waters are economically important to the region, as it hosts copious fishing routes and approximately over 2.560 oil wells as well as gas revenues that should accrue to the Nigerian Government but which are lost to the Republic of Cameroun as a result of the illegal annexation of the islands by the Republic of Cameroun
He expressed Concern that the Nigerians living in the said Mangroves Islands comprising about 16 villages and ancestral home in an area recognized and provided for in the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (As Amended) and which was not coded to Cameroun Republic by the 1913 treathes and the International Court of Justice judgement, being uncomfortable with Cameroun Soldiers in their communities even when no Cameroonian lives in that community
Bassey worries that the continued expansion in to the Nigeria’s territory is a breach of international laws, an affront on Nigeria’s territorial integrity and unlawful exploitation of Nigeria’s economic resources as well as national embarrassment.
Many Senators who contributed in the debate supported the motion,urging the senate to tak thee right decision to regain the area back to the Nigerian territorial integrity.
The senate however, resolved to constitute an ad- hoc committee to investigate the Alleged annexation and give appropriate suggestions for the senate to take the right decision on the issue.
Cov/Bashir M
