The representative of Sina Area, Mr Adamu Kamale, said the community was never considered in the entire demarcation process. Photo: Ibrahim Shehu/Radio Nigeria
The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on International Boundary Dispute has directed that the demarcation exercise to cede Sina Area in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State to the Republic of Cameroon be halted immediately.
The Chairman of the Committee, Mrs Beni Lar, gave the ruling during a hearing on the series of lingering boundary hotspots across the Nigeria-Cameroon boundaries, which stretch from the Lake Chad region down to the Cross River estuaries.
The hearing was also to assess the role of the military, paramilitary, and security agencies in safeguarding the borders and territorial integrity of the country.
Mrs Lar stated that the committee has to continue the engagement with the relevant community as well as the boundary commission and come up with a solution, noting that the communities have rights that must be considered.
She explained that the second aspect of the interactive briefing, which is very critical, is on the role of the military, the paramilitary, and the security agencies towards safeguarding the borders and territorial integrity of Nigeria.
According to her, during the Committee’s last visit to Cross Rivers State, they discovered the lack of Security posts or barracks of any sort along the nation’s land borders, whereas such is obtained across the Cameroon side of the border.
The Director General of the National Boundary Commission, Mr Adamu Adaji, said the demarcation exercise was being carried out in line with a ruling of the International Court of Justice.
According to him, the Adamawa State sector of the boundary between Nigeria and Cameroon, as decided by the International Court of Justice, is based on treaties and agreements that had been entered into by colonial masters.
Mr Adaji affirmed that the courts upheld the treaties and agreements and ruled that they be used to re-establish the boundary.
The representative of Sina Area, Mr Adamu Kamale, said the disputed area was a Nigerian territory and was never a settlement.
He added that the community was never considered in the entire demarcation process.
Reporting by Ibrahim Shehu; Editing by Chinasa Ossai and Julian Osamoto