Cameroon and Nigeria are expected to complete the physical demarcation of their 2,100-kilometre international boundary within the next two to three months, nearly 24 years after an International Court of Justice ruling settled their long-running territorial dispute.
Adamu Adaji, director-general of Nigeria’s National Boundary Commission, said the remaining work was concentrated in the Adamawa sector, where more than 260 boundary pillars are being installed, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
“We are currently placing pillars to make the boundary visible in those sectors,” Adaji said, adding that the work could be completed before the end of the year.
Adaji said that disagreements over several sections had been resolved through consultations involving the two governments, and added that the process took account of the location of settlements and the interests of communities whose homes, farms or traditional areas could otherwise have been divided by the boundary.
He cited Koja as an example, saying the settlement was initially largely placed on the Cameroonian side under the ICJ-defined alignment. An understanding between the countries allowed the predominantly Nigerian community to remain in Nigeria, while other adjustments were made elsewhere.
Adaji said that Nigeria and Cameroon would need to improve infrastructure and basic services while preserving cooperation among populations with shared cultural, linguistic and historical ties.
He added that cross-border mechanisms would help the countries exchange information, combat smuggling and irregular migration, and document legitimate movement.
The UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel said in May that the two countries had surveyed and agreed on 2,001 kilometers of the approximately 2,100-kilometre frontier through the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission. The commission was established under United Nations auspices to implement the ICJ’s October 10, 2002, judgment. In its ruling, the court awarded sovereignty over the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon and determined the countries’ land and maritime boundary.
