- Nigeria and Cameroon exchanged 211 prisoners captured during clashes in the disputed Bakassi Peninsula
According to Dwight D. Eisenhower, together we must learn how to compose difference, not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose.
To teach history, it should be studied and practiced. When we don’t ignore the past, we frequently apply its lessons to forge a fruitful present.
On April 2, a particular event occurred that contributed to Nigerian history. It strengthened this nation’s historical foundation too.
Nigeria and Cameroon exchanged 211 prisoners captured during clashes in the disputed Bakassi Peninsula
On this day, April 3 in 1998, Nigeria and Cameroon exchanged 211 prisoners captured during clashes in the disputed Bakassi Peninsula.
Nigeria exchanged 86 captured Cameroonian soldiers and 38 civilians for 86 captured Nigerian soldiers and one civilian.
The Bakassi Peninsula war
According to Wikipedia, the Bakassi conflict is an ongoing insurgency which started in 2006, in the Bakassi Peninsula of Cameroon waged by local separatists against Cameroonian government forces.
After the independence of Cameroon and Nigeria the border between them was not settled and there were other disputes. The Nigerian government claimed the border was that prior to the British–German agreements in 1913, and Cameroon claimed the border laid down by the British–German agreements.
The border dispute worsened in the 1980s and 1990s after some border incidents occurred, which almost caused a war between the two countries.
In 1994 Cameroon went to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to avoid war with Nigeria after many armed clashes occurred in the disputed regions.
Eight years later the ICJ ruled in Cameroon’s favour and confirmed the 1913 border made by the British and Germans as the international border between the two countries. Nigeria confirmed it would transfer Bakassi to Cameroon.
In June 2006 Nigeria signed the Greentree Agreement, which marked the formal transfer of authority in the region, and the Nigerian Army partly withdrew from Bakassi. The move was opposed by many Bakassians who considered themselves Nigerians and they started to arm themselves on 2 July 2006.
Two years later the Nigerian Army fully withdrew from the peninsula and it transitioned to Cameroonian control. More than 50 people were killed between the start of the conflict and the full withdrawal of the Nigerians.
The conflict largely ended on 25 September 2009 with an amnesty deal. Since then sporadic clashes have occurred in Bakassi. Only one local group, the Bakassi Freedom Fighters (BFF), and militants from the Niger Delta as well as Biafran separatists continue to fight.
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