ABSTRACT

This Research work is centered mainly on the International Court of Justice‟s adjudication process in the Nigerian-Cameroon conflict. The research examines how judgment over the conflict was passed by the International Court of Justice and how they ensured justice was achieved in determining who the sovereignty over the peninsula lies with.

The research for this study was conducted using secondary sources of data collection, that is, data and materials were gathered majorly from Journals, Internet Sources, Newspapers and few Textbooks.

Results from the research work reveal that the International Court of Justice declared Cameroon the sovereign owner of the Bakassi Peninsula region on the basis of the Anglo-German Treaty of 1913. It also showed how the United Nations Secretary General, Koffi Annan, used his good offices to secure Nigeria and Cameroon‟s commitment to abide by any judgment reached by the court. This he did by holding several meetings between the presidents of Nigeria and Cameroon, Obasanjo and Biya. The efforts of Koffi Annan, however, paved the way for the Green Tree Accord that served as the backbone to the International Court of Justice‟s decision.

The study thus concludes that contrary to popular conception about the unfairness of the outcome to Nigeria, the court process was, in fact, transparent open and fair to both parties. This gives to demonstrate the significance of process as a key determinant of outcomes.