Nigeria will respect ICJ’s ruling on Nigeria-Cameroon border —Buhari

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari,  on Monday declared that his administration would abide by the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Nigeria-Cameroon border.

He made the declaration when he received a United Nations Mission led by a Special Representative of the Secretary General, Mohammed Ibn Chambers, at the presidential villa, Abuja, on Monday.

Buhari stated that Nigeria would not do anything to hamper the work of the various United Nations committees on the border.

“We will abide by the law.  Having accepted the judgment of the ICJ, we are ready to support the security and logistics requirements of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission (CNMC) to carry out the border demarcation,” the President said.

The President expressed support for the exercise, recalling that as Military Head of State between 1984 and 1985, his administration instituted the demarcation of the Nigeria land borders from Benin to Bakassi and urged that all committees be allowed to carry out their functions in line with the ICJ decision.

Earlier, Mohammed Ibn Chambers, Chairman of CNMC, had informed President Buhari that 2,001 kilometers out of 2,100 kilometers separating Nigeria and Cameroon had been marked, leaving a balance of 99 kilometers to conclude the demarcation.

He expressed hope that the remaining area would be completed latest by the first quarter of next year following the relative calm that had returned to border areas earlier inhabited by Boko Haram terrorists.