YAOUNDE, Cameroon -(Dow Jones)- The Cameroonian government is tightening governance and security in the oil-rich Bakassi peninsula, Interior Minister Hamidou Marafa Yaya said Sunday on his maiden tour of the locality.
"On the instructions of the head of state, the government has embarked on a number of projects--mainly to develop the administrative infrastructure here, bring potable water, electricity to the people of Bakassi and improve the roads, " the minister of territorial administration and decentralization said.
Rich in oil, the locality has witnessed deadly sporadic clashes since Cameroon officially gained control of the territory in 2002 via a International Court of Justice ruling. Nigeria had previously occupied the territory for over 15 years.
With a population of nearly 95% Nigerians, Cameroon's ownership of the territory remains contested by armed splinter groups, which often attack Cameroonian military and administrative facilities.
A fatal confrontation occurred in February, when unidentified gunmen raided Cameroon governmentinstallations, killing two paramilitary gendarmes and kidnapping 11 government officials.
"Peace is now reigning on the peninsula... people can now move freely and live in normal circumstances. This is thanks to what the president of the republic did by sending in the BIR (Rapid Intervention Battalion) to secure the area," Yaya said.
-By Emmanuel Tumanjong, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; +237-9655-6261; tnuel@yahoo.com
Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc
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