Cameroon, Nigeria discuss oil-rich peninsula

Representatives of Cameroon and Nigeria met Sunday in Yaounde, Cameroon, and discussed how to peacefully implement a court order that the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula be handed over to Cameroon.

Aug. 30, 2004

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Aug. 30 -- Representatives of Cameroon and Nigeria met Sunday in Yaounde, Cameroon, and discussed how to peacefully implement a court order that the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula be handed over to Cameroon.

The meeting was hosted by a United Nations commission set up to oversee the handover of the peninsula before a Sept. 15. The International Court of Justice issued the ruling in October 2002.

In November 2002, the UN established the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission at the request of the two nations' presidents.

After protesting the ICJ ruling, Nigerian authorities have now started to cooperate, authorities reported.

The dispute involves a 1,600 km border area, including the Gulf of Guinea. The dispute started in 1913 with hostilities as recent as the early 1990s.