Particularly affected, the leader of the Nigerian delegation to the Cameroun/Nigeria Mixed Commission, Prince Bola Ajibola, explained that Nigerians in the oil rich Bakassi Peninsula who have been suffering untold hardship from the hands of Camerounian authorities.

Ajibola in Yaounde, the Cameroun capital, at the resumed sitting of the commission yesterday, also decried the "flagrant abuses of the rights of such Nigerians". He urged the Camerounian authorities to check such abuses.

The commission set up by the United Nations (UN) to implement the October 10, 2002 International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment on the two countries' boundary dispute, had suspended its activities after its 12th session in Abuja in October 2004.

Ajibola, a former justice of the ICJ and Attorney-General of the Federation declared: "The fishermen in Bakassi are complaining of being deprived of their means of livelihood by incessant seizures of their boats".

He said: "They are also complaining of some mass arrests of their members who are allegedly being killed, maimed or declared missing.

"In some other places, allegations of killings and mass arrests of some of them have been made and are supported by documentary evidence."

Ajibola added: "There are also allegations of exorbitant fees charged for resident permit and infringement of property rights.

"It is in anticipation of such problems that the sub-commission on affected population was set up."

The Nigerian delegation leader said that such signals were scaring to the affected population in spite of the ongoing negotiation to hand over Bakassi to Cameroun, as ruled by the ICJ.

Ajibola reiterated Nigeria's commitment to a policy of good neighbourliness while not shirking its responsibilities to its citizens.

He said Nigeria was committed to a peaceful resolution of the boundary dispute with Cameroun whose nationals, he said, "are all brothers and sisters".

Ajibola remarked that it was imperative for the governments of both nations to ensure that nothing was done to create doubts in their commitment to peace and harmony.

"It is in the light of this that Nigeria eagerly awaits the outcome of the reports of the UN observer team on its fact-finding mission in Bakassi," he said.

Ajibola commended members of the international community for their "wonderful support and commitment" in ensuring a speedy and amicable resolution of the boundary dispute.

The meeting, which started on Wednesday, is expected to discuss maritime boundary issues, reports of the joint technical team on demarcation and the fate of the affected populations.

Also on the agenda is a new time-table for Nigeria's withdrawal from the disputed Bakassi.

At the last session held in Abuja in October 2004, members of the tripartite commission involving both nations and chaired by the UN representative, Mr. Ould Abdallah, resolved to hand over the issue of oil-rich Bakassi to their two heads of state.

The two leaders were expected to work along with UN Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan to resolve the grey areas.

Pursuant to this, the trio met in Geneva in May where they resolved all the grey areas and directed the mixed commission to resume their bi-monthly rotational sessions.

Speaking at the 13th session in Yaounde, Abdallah reminded both nations that the judgment would be three years in October and called for a quick resolution of all outstanding issues, to conclude the hand-over processes.

He said that both nations had achieved a lot in the handover processes, having completed the aspect that affected the Lake Chad area.

He commended Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Paul Biya for their commitment to resolving the issue.

Abdallah regretted the skirmishes, which occurred in Bakassi that led to some deaths in June, but praised both nations for the matured handling of the situation without allowing it to escalate.

He urged them to ensure that all disagreements were amicably resolved, noting that history and geography had destined that both nations would always have to be together.

In his speech, Ajibola expressed happiness at the resumption of the regular session and the negotiation process, and commended Abdallah for making this possible.

He blamed the lull on"some misgivings and misconceptions", which he said, were gradually being cleared.

Ajibola however noted that some of the activities had continued even during the lull, pointing out that the demarcation technical committee had continued to hold its meetings.

He said it was necessary to carry the affected population along, warning that failure to do so would result in fresh difficulties in implementing all the agreements entered into by the two countries.

Ajibola also noted the difficulties in implementing the ICJ judgment as it affected the maritime issue.

Earlier in his remark, leader of the Camerounian delegation, Mr. Ahmadu Ali, had called for a quick resolution of all obstacles to a speedy handover of the Bakassi Peninsula.

He described both nations as "leading lights in Africa", which must strive to show good example to other nations by resolving the dispute peacefully.

The Nigerian delegation to the three-day meeting also included Alhaji Dahiru Bobbo, the director-general of the National Boundary Commission. Others are the Nigerian Ambassador to Canada, Mr. Femi George and the Permanent Secretary in the Works Ministry, Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed.