General information
Type of Incompatibility: Territory
Comment on Type of Incompatibility: The disputed territory is the Bakassi Peninsula a 1000 sq km area on the Cameroon-Nigeria border located in the Gulf of Guinea.
Territory: Bakassi
Date of first stated goal of incompatibility: 1991-06-30
Comment on date of first stated goals of incompatibility: In June 1991, the Nigerian Government accused Cameroon of annexating nine Nigerian fishing settlements. On 30 or 31 December 1993, Nigeria sent troops on the Peninsula "to protect its nationals" against Cameroonian incursions.
Date of first use of armed force: 1994-01-31
Comment on first use of armed force: Occasional skirmishes in Bakassi date back from the 1960s. On 30 or 31 December 1993, Nigeria sent troops on the Peninsula. In early January 1994, it was reported that Cameroonian security forces attacked several Nigerian villages. Nigerian and Cameroonian troops clashed on 18 February 1994.
Date of first battle related death: 1994-02-18
Comment on first battle related death: Occasional skirmishes in Bakassi date back from the 1960s. On 30 or 31 December 1993, Nigeria sent troops on the Peninsula. In early January 1994, it was reported that Cameroonian security forces attacked several Nigerian villages. Nigerian and Cameroonian troops clashed on 18 February 1994.
Date of conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: 1996-05-07
Comment on conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: At least 19 Nigerian and Cameroonian soldiers were killed in 1994. The death toll from the clashes in 18 February 1994, when the first battle-related death took place, remains unknown. Heavy clashes took place in early August 1995 between Nigerian and Cameroonian troops. Despite allegations by the local press that at least 30 people had been killed in August 1995, the death toll was never confirmed. In late April 1996 and early May clashes occurred, and on 7 May at least 25 battle-related deaths were reported to have taken place. However, it should be noted that the threshold of 25 battle-related deaths might have been passed as early as 1994.
Annual information
This section contains annual information systematically collected by the UCDP.
1991
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Interstate
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1994
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Interstate
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 66 |
| Best | 13 |
| Low | 13 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1996
Primary Parties: Government of Cameroon - Government of Nigeria
Dimension: Interstate
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 57 |
| Best | 56 |
| Low | 56 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
1998
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Interstate
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 8 |
| Best | 1 |
| Low | 1 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2002
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Interstate
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2003
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Interstate
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2004
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Interstate
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2005
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Interstate
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 1 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2006
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Interstate
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
Peace agreements
Name of peace agreement: The Greentree agreement
Date when warring parties signed the agreement: 2006-06-12
Comment of peace agreement: Full peace agreement
On 12 June 2006, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Cameroonian President Paul Biya, signed Agreement between the Republic of Cameroon and the Federal Republic of Nigeria concerning the modalities of withdrawal and transfer of authority in the Bakassi Peninsula concerning the modalities of withdrawal and transfer of authority in the Bakassi Peninsula, at an estate outside New York City.
The agreement provided for the withdrawal of Nigerian troops within 60 days, with a possible 30-day extension, from the Bakassi Peninsula.
Concerning the incompatibility, Nigeria reconized the sovereignty of Cameroon over the Bakassi Peninsula as ruled by the International Court of Justice. Nigeria was allowed to keep its civil administration and police force for two years.
A follow-up Committee, composed of representatives of Cameroon, Nigeria, UN, Germany, USA, France and UK, was formed to monitor the implementation of the agreement.
Signatories: For the Republic of Cameroon: Paul Biya, President
For the Federal Republic of Nigeria: Olusegun Obasanjo, President
Witnesses
For the United Nations: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
For the Federal Republic of Germany:
For the United States of America:
For the French Republic:
For the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:
Comment of signatories: Comprehensive
Third parties: United Nations, the Federal Republic of Germany, the United States of America, the French Republic, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Comment of Duration: The final meeting of the Follow-up Committee to monitor the implementation of the Greentree Agreement on the Bakassi Peninsula ended on 22 October 2013 with a statement through which the delegations of Cameroun and Nigeria “confirmed that the Special Transitional Regime of Five (5) years established by Annex I of the Greentree Agreement came to an end on 14 August 2013” and that “from that date, the Republic of Cameroon fully exercises its rights of sovereignty over the totality of the Zone delimited by Annex II of the Agreement”. Both delegations also reaffirmed their commitment to continue to strengthen their bilateral cooperation.
Full-text peace agreement
2012
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Interstate
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2023
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Interstate
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
Conflict Archive
This section contains annual information no longer systematically collected by the UCDP.
1991 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
1994 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
1996 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: YES
Comment on Negotiation: Talks between Cameroon and Nigeria were hosted by Togos President Eyadema in February 1996. Diplomatic efforts by Togo, the UN and the OAU aimed at organising a summit to resolve the dispute. The summit that was suppost to be hold on 20 June in Togo was cancelled two days earlier.
Third party involvement: YES
Third party involvement names: Togo, the UN and the OAU.
Victory: NO
Terminated: YES
Type of termination: No or Low Activity
Date of termination: 1996-12-31
Comment on Termination: Fighting was reported in May and December 1997 and in March 1998 but did not clearly reach the threshold for activity.
1998 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2002 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2003 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2004 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2005 Conflict Archive
Negotiations: YES
Comment on Negotiation: In 2005, negotiations continued both between the heads of state and within the framework of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission.
President Obasanjo, of Nigeria and President Biya, of Cameroon, met with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Geneva in May to attemt to reach an agreement on a timetable for Nigerian troop withdrawal and on when to demarcate the maratime boundary. However, the two heads of state failed to make any progress.
The Mixed Commission, mandated to negotiate the implementation of the 2002 ICJ ruling, met in Yaounde in July, under the auspices of the UN. A working group was set up to prepare a new programme of withdrawal of the Nigerian troops from the peninsula. The report was presented at the Mixed Commissions fourteenth meeting, which was held in Abuja in October the same year, and where it was decided that the programme of withdrawal should be presented to the two countries presidents and to the UN secretary general.
Third party involvement: YES
Third party involvement names: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General
Comment on Third Party Involvement: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan mediated talks between the two heads of state in May 2005.
Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General chairs the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission that is mandated to negotiate the ICJ ruling from 2002.
Victory: NO
Terminated: NO
2006 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2012 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2023 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
