THE simmering dispute between Cross River and Akwa Ibom states over oil wells has become even more Interesting with a fraudulent map being circulated by the National Boundary Commission (NBC). This map in effect cedes to Cameroon and other nations, part of the estuarine territory of Cross River State.

It gives up Nigerian internal waters, thus compromising Nigerian sovereignty, security and economic interest. This territory is being forfeited by agencies of the Federal government of Nigeria because it is in Cross River state. In other words Nigeria will rather forfeit this territory than have this territory as part of Nigeria and make Cross River a littoral state.

For the adjustment of internal boundaries, the NBC must work through the Internal Boundary Technical Committees (IBTC) The IBTC Committee, if properly constituted, should have the Surveyors General of the States involved in the dispute and the Chairman of the State’s Boundary Committee as members. The IBTC was never constituted for this particular matter – Akwa Ibom and Cross River State.

Section 8(2) of the 1999 Constitution also requires an act of the National Assembly to legalise any adjustment of boundaries within the Federation. The Constitution specified an elaborate and strict procedure for the enactment of an Act of the National Assembly relating to boundary adjustment. None of the constitutional procedures was complied with in the purported adjustment  of the boundary lines between Cross River and Akwa Ibom States.

It may be that a non coastal state, such as Kano or Oyo cannot be a littoral state, even if the parties purport to agree that it is one. That would in all probability be due to the fact that no part of its territory lies contiguous or close to the sea. However, if the tiniest part of a state touches the sea it is a littoral state. If then there is a dispute between two coastal states as to whether one is littoral or not and the parties by negotiation agree that their boundaries be drawn in such a way as to make both states littoral, such an agreement is valid and binding. In AG Cross River State vs AG Federation the Supreme Court had held that “boundaries are fixed either by proved acts of the respective owners as for example by agreement assurance, undisturbed possession and estoppels…”

The maritime boundary lines were negotiated and fixed by the parties in recognition of the historic ownership of the territory by Cross River state. The parties acknowledged that technical principles of maritime boundary demarcation cannot be applied to displace historic titles.

In the instant case, Akwa Ibom and Cross River State are acknowledged coastal states. Both agreed that their boundary be established by negotiated agreement along the established lines of historic titles. They expressly rejected the technical rules of boundary delimitation. This implied that the parties had agreed on a boundary line that preserved the littoral status of Cross River State.

Surprisingly, NBC has submitted to the Supreme Court a map which seek to shift the baseline on the estuary ceding a large part of the internal waters of Cross River state into the territorial sea and ascribing this part to Akwa Ibom state. The legal implications of this inward shift are too grave for the economic and security interest of Nigeria. First the control the nation has over the territorial sea is not as firm as the control over the internal waters. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the internal waters are regarded as part of the land territory of the nation and entry into the internal waters by other countries even for navigation is prohibited without approval formalities from host country. But the control over territorial waters is less firm and UNCLOS allows foreign ships including the military, certain navigation rights without approval formalities from the host country. So if the action of the NBC is sustained, Cameroonian Navy can actually navigate into the nation’s soft under belly without hindrance; the only restraint under UNCLOS being that the navigation should be for non aggression purposes, an injunction that makes no sense in the murky waters of military and security matters.

The movement of the baseline by NBC from the position established by the ICJ means that on the same estuary, the baseline applied by Cameroon will be different from the baseline applied by Nigeria. This is an affront to common sense and a recipe for disaster, beyond it being impracticable.

The exclusive economic zone of the country is calculated from the baseline. An inward shift of the baseline as undertaken by NBC will automatically mean an inward shift of our convergence point for this region with Equitorial Guinea, Cameroon and Sao Tome and Principe. Considering that this convergence point is still the subject of negotiations between the countries, this action of NBC amounts to a sabotage of the interest of the nation from an agency that has the responsibility for the protection of that interest.

Whereas the ICJ judgement had recognised the entire bay formed by the estuaries of the Akwayafe and Cross River as Nigerian internal waters, the NBC map cede away a sizeable area of the bay and converts it to territorial waters! If the coastline proposed in the map is accepted in the impending July 10 case, Nigeria would by the pronouncement of its highest court have voluntarily converted its internal waters into territorial waters with all the attendant consequences. Who knows what future international conventions will allow in territorial waters? The Supreme Court is now going to pronounce on not only the  rights of Cross River State but on the territorial integrity of the  whole country.

It should be noted that it will make no difference whether the territory thus taken from Cross River is given to Akwa Ibom State or to the Federation. That decision falsified the coastline to Nigeria’s disadvantage and will bind Nigeria forever, should this become the judicial determination by the highest court.

The map as proposed by NBC is a fraudulent map and will cede more of our territorial waters to Cameroon. Fraudulent because the constitution provides and stipulates methods of delineation/demarcating boundaries and this was never followed through. Why is illegality being perpetuated during President Goodluck Jonathan’s tenure against Nigeria?  Territorial waters are national territory. International waters are commerce grounds. This means that even the bodies of the waters which the International Court of Justice called territorial waters are now international waters therefore if our naval ships want to come into the country, they will now need to take permission from Cameroon.

By the fraudulent position of the NBC, a substantial part of Calabar South, capital of Cross River State will now be in Akwa Ibom State by an illegal boundary commission fiat.

The whole adjustment is illegal in its entirety and it would cause the Federal Government of Nigeria untold hardships and issues in the future.

Mr.  RITA EDET, a lawyer, wrote from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.