Attorney-General of the Federation Mohammed Adoke said that the Federal Government had disbursed more than N2 billion to communities affected in the border dispute in the Bakassi Peninsula.

Adoke said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yaounde, Cameroon, on the sideline of the 29th session of Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission.

 The Justice Minister said that the government was working hard to ensure that the affected communities were properly resettled.

``There is effort to resettle them and then there is also the UN effort at helping to resettle them effectively and that has been done; both government are working very hard.

 ``Nigeria had given over N2 billion for resettlement of the affected population and had decided or opted to go to the Nigerian side of the Bakassi.

 ``So the government is trying very effectively. We have the borders community agency that is there to faithfully ensure that the indigenes of Bakassi are well resettled.”

 He advised the affected communities to continue to be law abiding and have faith in Nigeria.

 “The communities should realise that government is responsible enough to choose whether to abandon or not to abandon them.’’

 He said both governments would continue to ensure security in Bakassi Peninsula and that the implementation of the cooperation agreement on trans-border security between the countries would enable them to quickly stamp out security threats along the 2000km expanse of the border.

 Adoke recalled that in 2002 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gave a judgment awarding part of the peninsula to Cameroon.

 ``It has been a lot of misunderstanding in respect of that judgment. The judgment actually decided five issues whereby Cameroon won two and Nigeria won two and the both countries lost one, I mean on ground of state responsibility.

 ``But unfortunately due to the misrepresentation ongoing, it seems as if Nigerian has lost completely to Cameroon. That is not the situation it was a win-win situation for both countries.”

 He expressed the commitment of both countries to live peacefully “as brothers sharing common destiny”. 

 The attorney-general said the commission had not complained about lack of funds for the resettlement of the affected communities at the moment.

 According to him, the government will support the commission if it lacks the funds that will enable it to settle the affected communities.

 
http://www.leadership.ng/nga/articles/34267/2012/09/05/fg_disburses_n2bn_resettlement_package_bakassi_indigenes_minister.html