Cameroon – Nigeria Border: Demarcation Process Nears Completion

With the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission’s session scheduled to hold in Abuja on February 15, 2021, many are optimistic that the ongoing border dispute will be settled once and for all.

It should be recalled that the UN Special Representative for West Africa, Mohammed Ibn Chambas who is to chair the February 2021 session is at the end of his term of office.

He therefore hopes to successfully conclude on this border dispute.

About the Cameroon – Nigeria Border Dispute

The land and sea borders between Cameroon and Nigeria were drawn in 1913 following an agreement between Germany and Great Britain, the colonial masters at the time.

Decades later, arguments broke out over who owns the hydrocarbon-rich Bakassi Peninsula.

The dispute led to an armed conflict between Cameroon and Nigeria, over the piece of land.

The U.N. Comes In

On October 10, 2002, a ruling by the International Court of Justice handed over the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon.

After ruling, some disagreements were still recorded, contradictory to the ICJ’s ruling.

In November 2002, the UN Secretary General set up a joint commission to ease the implementation of decisions arrived at.

The commission was therefore charged with establishing a 2,100km border between Cameroon and Nigeria, a procedure which is almost at its conclusion in spite of some more disagreements.

Eleanor Ayuketah Ngochi

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