Flag of the Democratic Republic of Bakassi

The Bakassi Movement for Self-Determination (BAMOSD) is a militant organization that seeks for the independence of

Bakassi Bakassi is a peninsula on the Gulf of Guinea. It lies between the Cross River (Nigeria), Cross River estuary, near the city of Calabar and the Rio del Ray estuary on the east. It is governed by Cameroon, following the transfer of sovereignty f ...

, a territory of

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

and formation of the Democratic Republic of Bakassi. The movement played a leading role in the

Bakassi conflict The Bakassi conflict is an ongoing armed dispute over the Bakassi Peninsula of Cameroon. Originally subject to a border conflict between Cameroon and Nigeria, Bakassi later became affected by insurgencies waged by local separatists against Came ...

History

According to an email sent by ''Sive Ogan'', a member of BAMOSD, the decision to declare

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

from Nigeria was taken at a meeting in

Yenagoa Yenagoa is a Local Government Area and capital city of Bayelsa State, Southern Nigeria. It is located at the Niger-Delta region of the country at coordinates . The LGA has an area of 706 km2 and an estimated population of 798,466 at 2024. ...

Bayelsa State Bayelsa is a state in the South South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. The capital, Yenag ...

on July 2, 2006. It has made two declarations of independence since its foundation in 2006: one on August 2, 2006 in light of the

Greentree Agreement The Greentree Agreement is a formal treaty which resolved the Cameroon–Nigeria border dispute over the oil and natural gas-rich Bakassi peninsula.Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia, Cameroon, Peace Agreements, http://www.ucdp.u ...

between Nigeria and Cameroon, and another one on July 31, 2008 (two days less than two years after the first declaration of independence). In the latter declaration, Akwa Obutong was declared the capital of the republic. One of the first leaders of the organization,

Tony Ene Asuquo Chief Tony Ene Asuquo (1966 – August 15, 2006, near Calabar, Cross River State) was a leader of the Bakassi Movement for Self-Determination, which sought the independence of Bakassi. Life and career He came to international knowledge after h ...

, died less than a month after the first declaration of independence in a mysterious car accident.

Support and affiliations

It has been indicated in both Nigerian and Cameroonian media that the BAMOSD is backed by the militant MEND movement, which opposes the federal government and the predominant petroleum industry in the Niger Delta, and the SCAPO, which seeks independence for the nearby

Southern Cameroons The Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British League of Nations mandate territory of the British Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961, it has been part of the Republic of Cameroon, where it makes up the Northwest Region and Southw ...

as the Republic of

Ambazonia Ambazonia, alternatively the Federal Republic of Ambazonia or the State of Ambazonia, is a political entity proclaimed by Anglophone separatists seeking independence from Cameroon. The separatists claim that Ambazonia should consist of the N ...

Actions

On 31 October 2008, gunmen in speedboats kidnapped and threatened to kill 10 crew members from French offshore service vessel (OSV) "Bourbon Sagitta" near the Bakassi Peninsula. The vessel's owners said those taken hostage were seven French nationals, two Cameroonians and a Tunisian. A group called Bakassi Freedom Fighters has claimed to have carried out the attack. The leader of the group Ebi Dari told the BBC's Randy Joe Sa'ah in Cameroon that the Cameroonian government has seven days to enter into dialogue. He said the government had been warned many months ago that there would be no peace in Bakassi if it did not talk with the Bakassi Freedom Fighters. He said the group opposed the secession of the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon from Nigeria. Reuters news agency reported that the attack had been carried out jointly with a second group called Niger Delta Defence and Security Council (NDDSC). On November 5, 2008, the commander of the militant group, Ebi Dari confirmed that one of the French hostages under its custody was killed in a failed rescue bid by Cameroonian soldiers. However, then it was reported that the seafarer reported killed was still alive. On November 5, 2008 Groupe Bourbon announced that all its 10 crew members had been released.Bourbon Sagitta crew released.
Offshore Shipping Online: News - November 12, 2008.

References

{{Nigerian militant groups Rebel groups in Nigeria Independence movements Organizations established in 2006