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Nigeria Sends More Soldiers and Warship to Bakassi

P.M. News (Lagos)
NEWS
October 11, 2002
Posted to the web October 11, 2002

By Okafor Ofiebor
Calabar
Following the unfavourable World Court judgement yesterday ceding the oil-rich
Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun, the Federal Government, this morning, moved
swiftly to consolidate its hold on the disputed territory by deploying more
troops and armaments to the region.
P.M.News correspondent in Akwa-Ibom reports that warships carrying heavy
artillery weapons like armoured tanks, heavy artillery guns, trucks and
armoured personnel carriers have been sent to the Nigerian side of the
Peninsula.
The ships departed for Bakassi carrying heavily armed troops from the three
armed services.
The Nigerian naval fleet is being led by Navy Captain John Okpogiri, who is the
head of the Naval Task Force on Bakassi.
It was also learnt that the three Alpha Jets recently withdrawn from Cote D'
Ivoire have been stationed in Calabar for any emergency operation while members
of the military task force on Bakassi, currently on leave, have been recalled.
Nigerian troops already stationed in the area had been placed on a high state
of alert before the judgement was delivered. They are being co-ordinated by
Brigadier-General Adesina, who is the commander of the Nigerian troops in
Bakassi.
Investigations also revealed that more intelligence officers have been deployed
to the region, while top military officers, including General Officers
Commanding, GOC, are now swarming around Abuja trying to formulate strategies
to contain Cameroun in case an all out war with the French-speaking West
African country became inevitable.
President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, held a top level meeting with former
heads of state and serving governors on the verdict of the court.
In attendance at the meeting were Second Republic President, Alhaji Shehu
Shagari; Generals Muhammadu Buhari; Abdulsalami Abubakar; Yakubu Gowon; Chief
Shonekan; Anyim Pius Anyim, the Senate President; Ghali Umar Na'Abba, Rep.
Speaker, who stormed out after 30 minutes; National Security Adviser, Mohammed
Gusau, and others.
As at the time of filing this report, the situation was still calm in Bakassi,
with troops carrying out a thorough check of persons coming to the Nigerian
side of the Peninsula.

   

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