UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN THE RESOLUTION OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN NIGERIA AND CAMEROON OVER THE BAKASSI PENINSULA

Abstract

This study investigated the role international law played in the resolution of the territorial conflict between Nigeria and Cameroon over the Bakassi Peninsula from 1994 to 2008. Employing the use of primary and secondary source materials, it argues that even though the ICJ's ruling of October 2002 did not elicit direct and immediate compliance and resolution of the dispute, the law in the form of the
judgment served as a guide for all subsequent efforts at resolution. Indeed, all diplomatic measures applied were tailored along the lines of the Court's ruling, leading to the amicable resolution of the conflict, thereby once again bringing to the fore the continuous role of the law in relations between states in the international arena.