With less than 48 hours to the October 9, 2012 deadline for Nigeria to launch its appeal for a revision of the International Court of Justice (IJC) verdict ceding Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, is stalling on the presidential directive to revisit the issue.
At the end of its Wednesday emergency meeting with Vice President Namadi Sambo, Senate President David Mark, Speaker of House of Representatives Hon Aminu Tambawal and governors of the six South-South States, President Goodluck Jonathan had ordered that Nigeria should file for a revision of the case based on the fresh facts exclusively made public by Vanguard newspapers.
But a member of the committee set up by the president to prepare Nigeria’s case for the appeal told Sunday Vanguard, at the weekend, that “the AGF is still not disposed to assembling the documents for the revision because time is too short”.
Sources said, last night, they were not surprised about the AGF inaction as he had argued at the Wednesday meeting “that time was too short for Nigeria to present a formidable document, make contact with renowned international lawyers to package the case in conformity with ICJ specification and standards”.
Newsmen learnt yesterday “that the AGF is still in Abuja contrary to the initial reports that he was heading to the Netherlands to expedite action on the matter”. But sources said the Bakassi people had made contact with the wife of Mr. Tony Blair, a former British Prime Minister, who had prepared their brief months ago.
A member of the Save Bakassi Group, Mr. Maurice Ekong, also said the Efik Kingdom had secured the services of a high profile international lawyer two months ago and paid the initial commitment fee. “We have packaged the Bakassi brief in conformity with the ICJ standards”, Ekong said. “All that Nigeria needs to do is to take over the services of the international lawyer and our local lawyer, Mrs. Nella Andem Rabana (SAN), and submit necessary documents before the deadline”.
Rabana was among those who attended the Wednesday top level meeting in Abuja.
Yesterday, was reportedly sad that no action had been taken by the committee the president set up as if they had all the time in the world to make the appeal.
MINISTERIAL EGO
Mr. Hon Ani Esin, who was Bakassi Local Government Chairman when the territory was handed over to Cameroon, told Sunday Vanguard, yesterday, that “indeed our brief is well packaged and will withstand any international scrutiny”. But Adoke, the AGF, was said to be reluctant to take a decisive action because he felt not enough work had been done given the limited time frame.
Said a source: “The AGF has not equally availed himself of the knowledge of those Nigerians who have dug up the fresh facts neither has he called on those who have done their research to come up with their findings to brief the government on the way forward.
This is a national assignment and the AGF is acting as if he has some axe to grind with Bakassi people. How can an officer appointed to serve his nation stall a directive given by his principal? What does he stand to gain if we lose Bakassi and sentence our people to eternal misery?”
