Following what it described as the "grossest form of human rights
abuses," the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, yesterday, asked the
Federal Government to without further delay, apply for a revision of
judgment of the International Court of Justice, ICJ, which in 2002,
ceded Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon.
This is even as a consortium of lawyers led by Crownfield Solicitors,
has given President Goodluck Jonathan seven days to initiate an appeal
proceeding before the ICJ on the matter.
The group, via a letter it forwarded to the Attorney General of the
Federation, leadership of the two chambers of the legislature,
National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, Secretary General of United
Nations and the Republic of Cameroun High Commission, said it would
not hesitate to sue President Jonathan for negligence of duty should
he fail to appeal the Bakassi verdict before the October 10 deadline.
In the letter which was signed by its lead counsel, Mr. Festus A.
Ogwuche, and made available to Saturday Vanguard, the group argued
that the existence of the African Charter as an international treaty
binding Nigeria and Cameroun renders ineffective the transfer of the
Bakassi Territory from Nigeria to Cameroun under both the purport of
the ICJ judgment and the Green Tree agreement.
Meanwhile, in a communiqué it issued in Abuja yesterday, the NBA
warned that "the gross violations of the rights of the Bakassi people
have the potential of spiraling into major insurrection spawned by the
exercise of the right to self-determination."
"The NBA is aware that there are grounds upon which the Government of
Nigeria may legitimately apply for a revision of the ICJ judgment of
10th October 2002, and having adjudged those grounds (or fresh facts
that were not considered by the ICJ earlier on) as being worthy of
re-consideration: Consequently, the NBA calls on the Government of
Nigeria to, without further delay, apply under Article 61 of the ICJ
statute of 1946, to the ICJ for a revision of what is an unjust
judgment over Bakassi.
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