The ICJ’s Decision on Bakassi Peninsula in Retrospect: a True Evaluation of the History, Issues and Critique of the Judgement
E. E. Alobo PhD; John Adoga Adams, LL.B (Hons), B.L, LL.M, PhD (Cal); S. P. Obaji, LL.B (Hons), B.L, LL.M (Kent)

Abstract
Territorial disputes are endemic in Africa; the Bakassi dispute was one of such. It was submitted by Cameroon to the International Court of Justice at The Hague for its determination. The judgement that followed suffered weighty denunciation particularly in Nigeria, yet it enjoyed great approbation internationally. This article takes a magisterial examination of the legal issues raised by the parties and the decision of the court thereto from two angles. First, it analyses the basis of Cameroon’s claim over Bakassi and Nigeria’s responses as formulated by parties. The second part of the article, which affords a critique, focuses on the general and legal grounds upon which the judgment can be faulted. The conclusion that flowed from this analysis is that the ICJ, with due respect, erred in its findings and should be properly guided when forced with similar dispute in future so as to render a valid narrative of International Law

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