Nigeria has formally handed over the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, in accordance with a 2002 International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling which stipulated that sovereignty over the disputed region lies with Cameroon. An official ceremony held on 14 August in the Nigerian city of Calabar marked the transition.

During the symbolic ceremony on Thursday, the Nigerian Minister of Justice Michael Aondoakaa said the handover marked ‘a great milestone in the history of the two countries’.

“We are saddled with the painful, but most important task of handing over Bakassi to Cameroon,” Aondoakaa said. “We have a commitment to the international community to promote peace and brotherliness between our countries.”

Border dispute before the ICJ

In 1994 Cameroon brought a case before the ICJ to rule on the border dispute between the two countries. In its judgement of October 2002, the ICJ ruled that sovereignty over the region lies with Cameroon according to borders established by an agreement between colonial powers Germany and Britain in 1913. The ICJ requested Nigeria to withdraw its administration and military forces from the Bakassi Peninsula.

The handover comes after years of negotiations over how to implement the 2002 decision. On 12 June 2006, the two parties concluded the “Green Tree Agreement” negotiated by the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, established by the UN. Despite concerns over security and a court order delaying the handover, Nigeria peacefully marked the handover on Thursday before senior UN officials and diplomats from numerous countries.

The Bakassi Peninsula neighbours the Gulf of Guinea, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas. The region was the cause of frequent violent attacks between Nigeria and Cameroon. The transition process is hoped to mark the end of the hostile disputes over the region.

Presentation of the case before the ICJ