Punch   Gendarmes terrorise Nigerian fishermen in Bakassi By Ibanga Isine, Senan John Murray, Ofonime Umanah and Chukwudi Akasike  Published: Wednesday, 16 Aug 2006 Less than 24 hours after Nigeria formally handed over the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroun, Nigerians still resident in the northern flank of the area on Tuesday alleged harassment and torture by Camerounian gendarmes. One of the natives, Mr. Ekanem Okon, claimed that the gendarmes tortured and seized the fishing equipment of Nigerians, who refused to bribe them.   Okon, who spoke with our correspondents on the telephone, shortly before President Olusegun Obasanjo asked the National Assembly to ratify the document on the transfer of the peninsula to Cameroun, claimed that some Nigerians might have been abducted. He said that the natives could no longer sleep comfortably because of the activities of the gendarmes, who, according to him, moved into Archibong Town from Ibekwe Village shortly after the handover of the peninsula on Monday.   About 70 gendarmes had arrived Ibekwe village on Thursday in gunboats. By Friday, they had built tents in the area in contravention of an agreement, which allows Nigeria to administer the northern part of Bakassi for the next two years. These people (gendarmes) now patrol the waterways seeking fishermen of Nigeria origin. In fact, they want to kill us here,” Okon claimed shortly before his phone line went off.   The senator representing the Cross River South in the National Assembly, Senator Ewah Henshaw, also expressed fear over the safety of Nigerians still resident in the area. Henshaw, who also spoke with our correspondents on the telephone from Abuja, argued that since Nigerians in the area had not been relocated, the Federal Government, should as a matter of urgency, send back soldiers to protect them. Also on Tuesday, a chieftain of the Bakassi Movement for Self Determination and president of the National Association of Bakassi Students, Mr. Emmanuel Asuquo, defended the resolve of the youths to create a republic” for the Bakassi people.   Asuquo, who spoke on the telephone from Port Harcourt where he has been in exile, said that the youths had written to the United Nations, the United States, and Britain on the matter. Also on Tuesday, Obasanjo sent a letter to the National Assembly seeking expeditious ratification of the agreement between Nigeria and Cameroun on the transfer of the peninsula. The President also attached a map of the area signed by the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, to the letter he addressed to the Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani, and copied to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.   Part of the agreement reads, Nigeria recognises the sovereignty of Cameroun over the Bakassi peninsula in accordance with the judgment of the International Court of Justice of 10 October 2002 in the matter of land and maritime boundary between Cameroun and Nigeria. Cameroun and Nigeria recognise the land and maritime boundary between the two countries as delineated by the Court and commit themselves to continuing the process of implementation already begun. Nigeria agrees to withdraw all its armed forces from the Bakassi peninsula within 60 days of the date of the signing of this agreement. If exceptional circumstances so require, the Secretary-General of the UN may extend the period, as necessary, for a further period not exceeding a total of 30 days. But Article 3 of the agreement provides that after the transfer of authority to it by Nigeria, Cameroun would guarantee to Nigerians living in the peninsula, the exercise of their fundamental rights and freedoms as enshrined in International Human Rights Law.   Sub-section 2 of the article reads, Cameroun shall: -Not force Nigerian nationals living in the Bakassi Peninsula to leave the Zone or to change their nationality; - Respect their culture, language and beliefs; - Respect their right to continue their agricultural and fishing activities; - Protect their property and their customary land rights; - Not levy in any discriminatory manner, any taxes and other dues on Nigerian nationals living in the zone; and - Take every necessary measure to protect Nigerian nationals living in the zone from any harassment or harm. A follow-up committee comprising representatives of Cameroun, Nigeria, the UN and the United States is to monitor the implementation of the agreement.   Some of the functions of the committee are the implementation of the agreement by the parties with the assistance of UN observers and settling any dispute regarding the interpretation and implementation of the agreement.   Obasanjo signed the agreement on behalf Nigeria while Mr. Paul Biya did for Cameroun. Meanwhile, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Obong Victor Attah, has described the role Nigeria played in the handover of the peninsula as one that is worth emulating by other countries. Attah, in a state radio interview on Tuesday, said that Nigeria had shown a good example of how to obey international laws.