THE Nigerian House of Representatives on Thursday passed a resolution advising the country’s executive arm to represent its case on the need to take back the Bakassi Peninsula, saying the International Court of
Justice, ICJ in The Hague, reached its verdict in 2008 in error.
Members of the House of Representatives said that Nigeria had fulfilled the two requisite grounds that could make the ICJ to revisit the Bakassi matter viz an ab-initio compliance with the court’s ruling and the discovery of new facts on the Anglo-German treaty of 1913, and its premise of the British Conference of 1816 on the partitioning of the disputed Nigerian-Cameroonian boundaries.
The ICJ in October 10, 2002 in a ruling ceded the Bakassi peninsula to the Republic of Cameroon.
This resolution emanated from a motion moved from Rep. Essien Ayi (PDP-Cross River) which was unanimously adopted without debate.
According to Ayi, Article 61 of the Statute of ICJ provided for application for the revision of a judgment only when some facts that are decisive factors, are unknown to the court and the party seeking revision.
Ayi cited instances of countries like El Savador, Yugoslavia and Tunisia which applied for a review of judgments by the ICJ.
He said that the people of Bakassi insisted on having a United Nation supervised plebiscite, where their rights to self-determination would be exercised.
The legislator said that similarly, the people of Bakassi called on the Federal Government to do same by invoking the machinery of justice and demand for a review of the case.
He said that there was the need for a review as the judgment was reached in error.