Cameroon and Nigeria resolve decades-long border dispute

Nigeria and Cameroon have resolved to settle their long-standing border dispute without seeking further court rulings. Instead, they will validate a demarcation plan through joint delegations on site, aiming to conclude the project by the end of 2025.

This agreement was reached during a two-day meeting of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission in Yaoundé.

The 2,100-kilometer (1300-mile) border dispute, spanning from Lake Chad to the Atlantic Ocean, has been complicated by Boko Haram terrorism, which has now significantly diminished, allowing the demarcation process to continue. The Mixed Commission was initially established in 2002 following an International Court of Justice ruling that ceded the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, a decision Nigeria initially contested but later agreed to respect.

Leaders from both nations, including Nigerian Justice Minister Lateef Fagbemi and the Chairperson of the Mixed Commission, Leonardo Santos Simao, expressed optimism about the peaceful resolution and the mutual agreement to visit and assess disputed territories before the end of 2024.

The United Nations has also praised the agreement, highlighting it as a milestone in the peaceful resolution of conflicts through diplomacy.