The Nigerian House of Representatives says it might consider a fresh application to appeal the International Court of Justice judgment that ceded Bakassi to Cameroon.
The House of Reps Ad hoc Committee on International Boundary Dispute Between Nigeria and Cameroon disclosed this.
The House set up the Ad hoc Committee to probe the case of encroachment into another Cross River State territory by Cameroon.
In a meeting with relevant stakeholders on the issue on Thursday, the Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee, Beni Lar, said they were concerned about the potential loss of a significant landmass and Nigerian citizens residing within it to Cameroon.
In attendance at the meeting was the Director General of the National Boundary Commission, Adamu Adaji; representatives of the affected Boki communities; and representatives of security agencies, among others.
She, however, assured that the House would not let another Nigerian territory be lost to another country.
She said: “From the human rights angle, let us know what can be done. It is very important. Everything is dynamic. You cannot have a law that wants to implement a 1912 treaty which is so old.
Laws are reviewed from time to time. You cannot want to implement it in the same manner. It is just like when you talk about the issues in Nigeria about grazing routes.
You cannot go back and get back to the same grazing routes. There has to be a political solution. You give us the legal solution, and then we politicians would come up with the political solution.
“There has to be a solution. There has to be a way to keep our Nigerian brothers and sisters in Nigeria. We have to find a way around it, even if it means coming up with a fresh appeal to the ICJ using diplomatic channels.
“Whatever we need to do, we should do it for the sake of the nation and the sake of our brothers and sisters that live in Nigeria.
“I cannot imagine waking up one morning and being told I am not a Nigerian. So from that human right angle, there has to be a way. We have to find a way to solve or resolve this issue.”
Meanwhile, the Director General of the NBC, Adamu Adaji, had called for compliance with the provisions of the ICJ judgment.
Members of the Committee expressed anger that NBC did not seem interested in protecting the country’s interests.
A community leader from Boki, Hon Cletus Obun, urged urgent intervention to avoid the loss of land and displacement of the people.
