On 1 September 1961, the Franco-Cameroonian parliament voted in favour of the new constitution. It was essentially the version for the Foumban conference, drafted beforehand by Ahidjo and his French advisers. To be binding under international law, it should also have been voted on by the parliament of the Southern Cameroons. This did not happen.
The absence of intergovernmental agreement and compromise is cited by pro-independence representatives of Ambazonia as a key feature of the illegality of the union. Another concern mentioned is that the federal constitution gives the impression that former French Cameroon has taken over Southern Cameroons.
The French president at the time, Georges Pompidou, referred to Southern Cameroons as a small gift from the Queen of England to France. Contrary to the United Nations General Assembly's binding resolution 1514 (XV) of December 14, 1960, on the granting of independence to all colonial peoples and countries, Britain transferred Southern Cameroons to the sovereignty of a foreign country, French Cameroon, and not to the government of Southern Cameroons, as required by international law. On September 30 1961, the British administrators left the Southern Cameroons. The next day, the French-Cameroonian army crossed the border. They disarmed the armed police in Southern Cameroons. It is described as a seizure of power by force. A Franco-Cameroonian official was appointed to the position of Governor General of Southern Cameroons. His official title was Federal Inspector of Administration. He reported directly to the President of French Cameroon. A series of other Franco-Cameroonian officials followed, including later his police force, which literally took over Southern Cameroons.
In 1992, Gorji Dinka, on behalf of the State of the Republic of Ambazonia, filed a lawsuit against the Republic of Cameroon and President Paul Biya on the main charge of illegal and forced occupation of the Republic of Cameroon. This trial was registered in the High Court of Bamenda, in the northwestern region of Cameroon, under number HCB28/92. There are conflicting reports on the outcome of this case.
In 1994, John Ngu Foncha and Salomon Tandeng Muna, both former prime ministers of Western Cameroon, returned to the United Nations in New York and called for autonomy for English-speaking Cameroon. The mission to the UN was before the All Anglophone Conference held in Buea, which brought together all the citizens of Anglophone Cameroon. They all called for the restoration of statehood to Western Cameroon. . A second Anglophone conference was held in Bamenda, where the decisions of the first conference were repeated. French Cameroon was given "reasonable time" to accept a return to the federation of the two states. If that failed the people of English-speaking Cameroon would have no choice but to restore their statehood and independence. The brutal arrests and imprisonment of AAC leaders and the flight into exile of several others stopped this from happening.
In 2005, the Republic of Ambazonia became a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. This was renewed in 2018. In 2005 the UN Court of Human Rights ruled in favor of compensating Fon Gorji-Dinka for the human rights violations committed against him and for the assurances he received regarding the enjoyment of his civil and political rights.
On August 31, 2006, the Southern Cameroons Peoples Organisation formally proclaimed the independence of the Republic of Ambazonia, which includes the disputed territory of Bakassi.
