Bakassi Community Leader, Udeme Okon regarding the controversy surrounding the littoral status of communities in Bakassi and the ownership of oil wells has taken a new turn, has insists that affected communities meet all constitutional and legal requirements to be recognised as host communities within Nigeria’s coastal framework.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday, Okon laid out a detailed legal, geographical, and administrative argument to counter claims that parts of Cross River State are landlocked and therefore ineligible for littoral classification or benefits tied to offshore oil production.
“I am from one of the littoral host communities of Bakassi Local Government area at the unceded part of Dayspring 1, 2, and Kwa Adam, Where INEC conduct voter registrations, conduct delineations, conduct all general elections, since 2011 till date and those communities meet the constitutional requirement of 500 metres inland, open to the Gulf of Guinea, and in accordance with the offshore producing facilities.”
He explained that the debate has been shaped by conflicting interpretations. “Well, this argument between the people of Aqaba, they are relying on two sweeping conjectures, which in integrating the International Court of Justice ruling of 2002, we ceded, I think the southern Bukkake is the part ceded to Cameroon, the western Bukkake, even close to that, They said that, well, close to that, it’s a landlocked state, and it’s not a literal state. Now, Kosovo is saying it is a literal state, that the ICJ never said it is not a literal state, and that the ICJ never ceded oil wells.”
According to him, the central legal question is whether these communities exist. “The issue that is before us, based on the alleged permutation of Akwa- Ibom state is on what we terms in legal terms. Loqous-inquo as to having a literal host communities within Cross Rivers State boundaries? The answer is yes. Does Cross River State still have a local government, known as Bakassi Local Government, from the peninsula? The answer is yes.”
Okon highlighted that Cross River State still retains administrative ties to the region. “Does Cross River State still have a local government, known as Bakassi Local Government, from the peninsula? The answer is yes, And lastly, does those Klingon host communities of Bagasi Peninsula at the unceded area of Dayspring 1, Dayspring 2, and Kwa Adam are socially gazetted within Nigerian context? Have they met the constitutional requirements to be termed and known as a literal host community? All the answers are yes.”
“I want to state, by definition of host community, under BIA Act, Section 318, it states host communities means communities that are in, or are pertinent to the area of operation of a settler. In this case, settlers are the OMLs, blocks of OML 114, OML 115, OML 123, etc. And we are the directly affected persons living in North Coastal Region.”
He stressed that the presence of oil mining leases within these areas further strengthens their claim. “And we have said, from time, please, National Boundary, come and do your constitutional responsibilities. We wrote several letters to the Governor of the State, to National Boundary, and Governor had also forwarded such letters to the National Boundary.”
He expressed concern over what he described as administrative inaction. “And on the issue of this Supreme Court reference, I want to say clearly that those judgements were stated while we, the Bakassi neutral host communities, were trying to get ourselves located to the western part of Bakassi. We were not involved in the case. The neutral host communities were not part and parcel to that case.”
He further argued that new realities have emerged since those rulings. “I had a story from several weeks in which community has abandoned its duty, forgetting that the BIA Act 2021 has changed the statutory obligation of security in all neutral host communities and host communities.We are all facilities and all operations is carried on, By the way, the VIA Act and the Host Community Revelation 2022 has been preceded by that judgement.”
Okon also pointed to geographical and coordinate-based evidence. “After the decision of our legal standards, we were not involved in the case, The neutral host communities were not part and parcel to that case. And here the impact has emerged today that the coordinates which does lie in the neutral host communities of Makassi are located at a latitude that is greater than the neutral host communities within Nigeria, It is a neutral host community because of neutral host communities of Bakassi.”
“Because of a judgement that was made in jail and now the revenge is reduced.”
He concluded that the dispute is no longer purely legal but requires decisive administrative and political action. “We have said, from time, please, National Boundary, come and do your constitutional responsibilities. We wrote several letters to the Governor of the State, to National Boundary, and Governor had also forwarded such letters to the National Boundary.
“Please, National Boundary, come and do your constitutional responsibilities.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
Follow us on:
