Disputed Sovereignty and Forced Displacement: Rethinking the Bakassi Peninsula Crisis Through International Law and Human Security

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Bakassi Peninsula crisis reveals the tensions between territorial sovereignty, international adjudication, and the protection of vulnerable populations. Despite extensive documentation of the displacement and statelessness resulting from the 2002 International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling and the Greentree Agreement, limited scholarly and policy attention has been paid to the structural and legal conditions that perpetuate this humanitarian crisis. This study foregrounds critical perspectives from international law and human security to advance a framework for understanding and addressing the displacement of Bakassi's indigenous population. It examines the historical, political, and postcolonial forces that shaped the dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon, as well as the institutional asymmetries that hindered durable protection for the affected communities. We argue that rethinking the Bakassi case through a human security lens exposes the limits of sovereignty‐centered adjudication and highlights the need for more inclusive, rights‐based international mechanisms. This approach opens possibilities for transformative policy interventions, enhanced regional cooperation, and renewed commitments to stateless populations caught in protracted border conflicts.