Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Mike Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN has maintained that the decision by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s to handover Bakassi peninsula was to safeguard Nigeria’s security and should not be faulted rather it should be commended.

The former number one chief law officer of the Federation made the declaration on Tuesday, when he appeared on ARISE NEWS daily morning show.

Aondoakaa said he had “sleepless nights” when the Bakassi handover took place and felt compelled to clarify misrepresentations. He emphasised that neither President Obasanjo, who implemented the Green Tree Agreement, nor President Yar’Adua, who presided over the 2008 handover, endangered Nigeria’s security.

“I don’t want the name of late President Yar’Adua to be tainted that he took a decision that affected the security of our country. We did not. We did not from our data,” he declared.

The Bakassi Peninsula dispute stemmed from a 2002 International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that ceded the oil-rich territory from Nigeria to Cameroon. In line with the 2006 Green Tree Agreement, Nigeria formally handed over Bakassi to Cameroon in August 2008 under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, following initial steps taken by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The decision sparked controversy at home, with critics arguing it stripped Cross River State of its coastal status and vital oil resources, while supporters maintained it upheld international law and preserved Nigeria’s diplomatic credibility.

Aondoakaa argued that the data available at the time showed Cross River State was not stripped of its littoral status. He pointed out that the Eastern Naval Command headquarters in Calabar — established in 1971 — remained operational, proving that Nigeria’s coastal security was not compromised.

He further explained that the Navy and the Surveyor General’s office worked with the government to ensure the demarcation line did not harm Nigeria’s security interests, stressing that the Supreme Court later acted on evidence different from what his administration had.

“This is not to say that I’m challenging the wisdom of the Supreme Court justices. It was the evidence presented to them. There might have been an error in the data presented to them. It’s possible. The Supreme Court acts on evidence. And it is the evidence presented to them. It is the evidence given to us that we felt Nigeria was adequately protected. And Cross River was not hewed out. Our concern then was the Eastern Naval Command headquarters, that it should not be hewed out,” he said.

On the contentious issue of oil wells, Aondoakaa said the 72 oil wells in question represented less than three percent compared to over 2,000 wells in Akwa Ibom.

“If you look at 72 oil wells in relation to 2,000 oil wells in Akwa Ibom, it is less than 3%. So, our goal was not about the oil. In our demarcation, we ensured that everything was well-protected and well-balanced,” he said.

Aondoakaa maintained that if errors exist, they stem from later political decisions or evidence presented after he left office in 2010, not from actions taken under Yar’Adua’s government.

See Full Transcription Below

BAKASSI

During our time because of the shores of Calabar we still felt they were a Littoral state. When Federal Government was to hand over Bakassi in 2005, the Navy objected and raised a lot of objections on the premise that they would not have access to the Sea if Cross River was hemmed out — and that would constitute a very serious threat.

Cameroon is a friendly nation, but every friendly nation is a potential enemy. It was a very serious complaint by the Nigerian Navy, and the Eastern Navy Command Headquarters was established in 1971 by the government of General Gowon to curtail any maritime challenges coming from the Gulf of Guinea. It was something President Yar’Adua took seriously.

Of course, not only President Yar’Adua; the Navy also made objections to the National Assembly. So, before we took the decision to hand over, we had to work on that threat that the Nigerian Navy would be unable to access the Sea if Calabar was hemmed in.

In my opinion, the practical demographics is laid out at the demarcation in the Northern part of Bakassi which is still part of Nigeria — and it ensures that Calabar would be protected by the Nigerian Navy because Calabar was still left as a Littoral state. They were not hemmed out.

This was based on the technical report given to us in 2008 because we had to invite the Surveyor General and international experts to look at the judgement of the International Court of Justice and the delineation and know whether the Nigerian Navy situated in Calabar would be hemmed out. But this was not the case.

I left office and the judgement came in 2012 that Cross River was hemmed out. I was shocked… The Supreme Court in their wisdom decided on what was brought to them. At that time, President Yar’Adua had died, I was no longer in office, so I don’t know up till now what kind of data was presented that brought that result.

If they say so, then the Eastern Navy Command should have been shut down because they would have no access to the Sea from the Calabar axis. To me, Cross River State ought to be an oil-producing State in the Northern part of Bakassi based on the line of demarcation which we resolved. This area was supposed to remain in Cross River, but I don’t know what happened.

It may be the data that was brought to the Supreme Court was different from the one the Navy resolved with us — because we did not shut down the Eastern Navy Command Headquarters in Calabar and move it to Port Harcourt. We needed an Armed Force that can police the Gulf of Guinea, and that is the Navy. We gave the Nigerian Navy direct access from Calabar Estuaries to the Atlantic Sea.

I don’t know what transpired, but I think it is something that has to be resolved.

Mind you, as former Attorney General I cannot challenge the wisdom of the Justices of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will give judgement based on evidence. President Yar’Adua wouldn’t have taken the security of the country lightly. The practical effect of our decision is that the Eastern Naval Command remained in Calabar — so how do they operate if they are hemmed out?

So, part of the Bakassi — which is now the western part — is still remaining in Cross River, and the in-shores are still there which are open to the Sea.

Actually, I am at a loss as per the data that was presented which was the basis of the argument at the Supreme Court. That is the extent I can talk about it because when the Supreme Court is involved, you have to be careful.

I am only talking in defence of the decision of the President Yar’Adua Administration, which led to me going to Calabar to hand over Southern Bakassi on 14th August 2008.

There was nothing like that, we never had any complaints until 2012 when we heard that Cross River was hemmed out. We never received such negative complaints.

That is the position.

GOVERNORSHIP

Sincerely, I don’t want to comment on that issue, because only God gives power to whom He wants, and when He wants.

If you go by provisions of the Constitution, I am qualified — anybody is qualified to be Governor of the state if he or she meets the Constitutional requirement.

I can only answer that question in relation to the people making threats.

I was born around the sixties during the Tiv riots and political crisis. When I grew up, I read terrifying stories of how people were killed or maimed. If you were NPC, then UMBC would murder you. Some would put a nail in your head and kill you.

I am mindful of what is going on. I read history of the same thing happening in the Western part of Nigeria at that time, and such incidents have not occurred again in Nigeria — maybe it reared out in Ondo in 1983.

The leadership of the country, especially under President Tinubu — starting from President Yar’Adua — tolerated opposition. Right now, you have ADC going around; some even attack the physical credibility of the president, and I have not seen where their members have been attacked.

Something is coming out in Benue that is frightening. I read in the papers where the president of the sub-regional group KUDA (Kunav Development Association) was saying that any person from Kunav that contests for governorship should be attacked and beaten up. Then the Vice Chairman of the local government also said that any Kunav son that contests shall be attacked.

I am not from Kunav, but then there is this general slogan: “No Alia, No Benue.”

These are unfortunate rhetorics. We should never look in that direction. If you are popular, then there is no need to input violence in your campaign, because if you are indeed popular then people will vote for you.

If you have done things to endear people to re-elect you, they will.

Though I have not heard it personally from the Governor, he needs to call those people to order. By saying so, they are saying he is no longer popular. By saying so, they are insinuating that he has lost that popularity and therefore this time they are not going to persuade the people but use force to bring him back.

They should remember what happened in Tiv land in the Sixties.

Constitutionally, I am qualified because the Constitution of Nigeria is clear. What is written in the Constitution cannot be added to nor subtracted from. I have not been convicted or declared bankrupt. By the Constitution, I am qualified to contest.

The only frightening aspect, and I want to allude to it, is this has to stop. If people attack the credibility of the President and he never said such things — because he believes in the rule of law — then why should people who claim to be supporters of the Governor say that “If there is No Alia, No Government, No Benue?”

The Reverend Fr. as Governor ought to be a man of peace. It is up to him to advise his supporters to respect the law to prevent any likelihood of breakdown of law and order in Benue State and Nigeria at large.

This thing is frightening. This is the flagship issue that we believe should be addressed quickly, because what happens in Benue can become dangerous.

What happened in 1962 and 1964 should never be allowed again in Nigeria, and it is not something the security agencies should take for granted.

So, that’s the only thing I will say about this for now. When the time comes, we will know about it. By law, the time for campaign has not started. Until then, as a law-abiding citizen, I will not talk further on that issue.