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FG will not appeal ICJ ruling on Bakassi

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, has said Nigeria will not apply for the review of the judgment of the … Continue reading FG will not appeal ICJ ruling on Bakassi


The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, has said Nigeria will not apply for the review of the judgment of the International Court of Justice, ceding the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon.

Adoke, in a statement on Monday, explained that the argument canvassed by the proponents of the review “is virtually bound to fail” as “a failed application will be diplomatically damaging to Nigeria”.

The AGF said the committee, set up by President Goodluck Jonathan had weighed the implications of a failed review, having noted the stringent condition attached to such review, and had advised Nigeria against appealing the judgment.

He said, “The   committee proceeded to examine the case for revision against the requirements of Article 61 of the ICJ Statute and was constrained to observe from the oral presentations made to it by the proponents of the revision that the strict requirements of Article 61 could not be satisfied.

“This is because their presentation was unable to show that Nigeria had discovered a decisive fact that was unknown to her before the ICJ judgment, which is capable of swaying the Court to decide in its favour. This is more so as most of the issues canvassed in support of the case for a revision of the ICJ judgment had been canvassed and pronounced upon by the ICJ in its 2002 judgment.

“The Federal Government also retained a firm of international legal practitioners to advise on the merits and demerits of the case for revision.  The firm, after considering all the materials that were placed at its disposal against the requirements of Article 61 of the ICJ Statute came to the reasoned conclusion that ‘an application for a review is virtually bound to fail’ and that ‘a failed application will be diplomatically damaging to Nigeria’.

“In view of the foregoing, the Federal Government has therefore decided that it will not be in the national interest to apply for revision of the 2002 ICJ Judgment in respect of the Land and Maritime Boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria.”

Adoke however expressed the concern of the FG on “the plight of Nigerians living in the Bakassi Peninsula and the allegations of human rights abuses being perpetrated against Nigerians in the Peninsula”.

He said, “The FG is determined to engage Cameroon within the framework of the existing implementation mechanisms agreed to by Nigeria and Cameroon in order to protect the rights and livelihoods of Nigerians living in the Peninsula.”