Nigerian troops have started withdrawing from the southeastern peninsula of Bakassi ahead of next month's transfer of the potentially oil-rich territory to Cameroon, a local official said on Wednesday. Ani Esin, chairman of Bakassi local government in Cross River state, said the pullout has raised tension in the long-disputed peninsula, due to become Cameroonian territory on Sept. 15 under a 2002 International Court of Justice ruling. "We have seen (Nigerian) soldiers moving out of Bakassi from their locations," Esin said while addressing the local assembly. "I am saying without mincing words that tension is really high in Bakassi." The army was not immediately available for comment. The swampy peninsula, which juts out into the Gulf of Guinea, is inhabited by about 300,000 Nigerians. Bakassi is the penultimate phase of the territory exchange between the two countries along their 1,000 mile (1,600 km) bounder. It began with 33 villages near Lake Chad last December and the last step will be to redraw the maritime border. The huge population of Nigerians in Bakassi makes it the most sensitive handover, as local politicians and traditional rulers have opposed the transfer. Nigerian officials said last week Nigerians in Bakassi can keep their nationality or opt for Cameroonian citizenship when the peninsula is transferred to the former French colony. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Cameroon President Paul Biya said after talks in Yaounde last Thursday the two countries had agreed to discuss measures to "ensure equal treatment of their citizens in either country." The neighbours, which came close to war over Bakassi several times since the 1960s, also agreed to open talks on signing a "non-aggression pact."
