Cameroon, Nigeria See Possible Joint Patrol In Gulf Of Guinea -Report

Automatid Trader

21 Feb 2011

Cameroon, Nigeria See Possible Joint Patrol In Gulf Of Guinea -Report

YAOUNDE, Cameroon -(Dow Jones)- Nigeria and Cameroon see the possibility of mounting joint military patrols to curb piracy in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea, state-run daily "Cameroon Tribune" reported Monday.

The tabloid cited a comment by Nigeria's foreign minister, Henry Odein Ajumogobia, after he met with Cameroon Premier Philemon Yang last Friday in Yaounde.

"Cameroon and Nigeria were looking forward to establishing joint military patrols, especially at maritime borders to check the constant attacks by pirates and gunmen in the Gulf of Guinea," the paper quoted the Nigerian minister as saying. Talks between the West African neighbors on combating pirate attacks come in the wake of persistent raids in the oil-rich Cameroon Bakassi peninsula and the neighboring Niger Delta of Nigeria.

Three separate attacks in Bakassi left at least four people dead in the first week of February, while 11 local and security officials were seized in one of the ambushes. The captives were freed only after Cameroon's government allegedly paid ransom to the kidnappers, who were said to have taken their captives to neighboring Nigeria.