By Okoi Obono-Obla
The judgment of the International Court of Justice at The Hague was delivered in October 2002 in favor of the Republic of Cameroon against Nigeria. Consequently, part of the Bakassi Peninsula was ceded to the Republic of Cameroon.
However, the Federal Republic of Nigeria retained sovereignty over some other parts of the Bakassi Peninsula.
In 2007, the Cross River State House of Assembly, instead of carrying out boundary adjustments between Bakassi and Akpabuyo local government areas, purportedly transferred three wards in Akpabuyo Local Government Area, namely Ikang Central, Ikang North, and Ikang South, to Bakassi Local Government Area via a law known as Law No. 7 of 2007.
However, some chiefs from Ikang filed a suit in the Federal High Court against the Independent National Electoral Commission, challenging the validity of Law No. 7.
The case was fought from the Federal High Court to the Court of Appeal and finally to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
In a landmark judgment delivered in February 2018, the Supreme Court of Nigeria held that the power any state House of Assembly has under Section 4(7) of the constitution is to adjust boundaries between local governments within a state for the purposes of development, not for elections.
Therefore, INEC cannot be compelled to obey Law No. 7 of Cross River State.
Surprisingly, and contemptuously, the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission has flagrantly refused to comply with the Supreme Court of Nigeria’s judgment, which stated that the Cross River State House of Assembly has no power to sever Ikang Central, Ikang North, and Ikang South wards from Akpabuyo Local Government Area and insert them in Bakassi Local Government Area.
According to INEC official records, there are 10 wards in the Akpabuyo Local Government Area, namely: Atimbo East,
Atimbo West, Eneyo,
Idundu/Anyaganse,
Ikang Central, Ikang North, Ikang South,
Ikot Edem Odo, Ikot Eyo, and Ikot Nkanda.
Did CROSIEC conduct the November 2, 2024 elections in these ten wards of Akpabuyo, as enumerated above? No.
CROSEIC rather conducted elections in Ikang North, Ikang Central, and Ikang South wards for Bakassi Local Government Area. Consequently, the councilors representing Ikang North, Ikang Central, and Ikang South wards are also representing Bakassi Local Government Area.
What fraud, absurdity, illogicality, and gerrymandering have ever been seen in history?!
According to INEC official records, there are 19 wards in Bakassi Local Government Area, namely: Abana,
Akwa, Akpankanye, Ambai, Amoto, Archibong, Atai Ema,
Efut Inwang, Ekpot Abia and Odiong.
Did CROSIEC conduct elections in 2024 in these wards enumerated above? No.
CROSIEC did not recognize these 10 wards in INEC’s records, but rather fraudulently created numerical wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10.
The displaced people of Bakassi Local Government Area were given only five councilors out of these ten wards, while the remaining were allotted to people from the three Ikang wards, namely: Ikang North, Ikang South, and Ikang Central!
•Obono-Obla, a lawyer, writes from Calabar, the Cross River State capital.
