The Maroua Declaration is a 1975

maritime boundary A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of Earth's water surface areas using physiographical or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...

agreement Agreement may refer to: Agreements between people and organizations * Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law * Trade agreement, between countries * Consensus (disambiguation), a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of ...

between

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. A question regarding the validity of the agreement arose during an

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

case that decided a

boundary dispute A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of territories (land, water or airspace) between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial disputes are often related to the po ...

between the two countries. The Maroua Declaration was signed on 1 June 1975 by

Ahmadou Ahidjo Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo (24 August 192430 November 1989) was a Cameroonian politician who was the first president of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982. He was previously the first Prime Minister of Cameroon, Prime Minister from the country's indepe ...

President of Cameroon The president of Cameroon is the executive head of state and de facto head of government of Cameroon and is the commander in chief of the Cameroon Armed Forces. The authority of the state is exercised both by the president and by the Parliamen ...

, and

Yakubu Gowon Yakubu Dan-Yumma "Jack" Gowon (born 19 October 1934) is a Nigerian former military officer and statesman who served as the head of state of Nigeria from 1966 to 1975. Gowon was Nigeria's leader during the Nigerian Civil War where he delivered ...

, the

head of state of Nigeria The president of Nigeria is the head of state and head of government of Nigeria, directly elected to a four-year term. Under the Nigerian Constitution, the officeholder leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commande ...

Maroua Maroua (Fula: Marwa, , 𞤥𞤢𞤪𞤱𞤢) is the capital of the Far North Region (Cameroon), Far North Region of Cameroon, stretching along the banks of the Ferngo River, Ferngo and Kaliao Rivers, in the foothills of the Mandara Mountains. T ...

, Cameroon. The agreement extends a maritime boundary that previously existed between the two countries further into the Gulf of Guinea from the mouth of the Akwayafe River. In 2002, the

issued a judgment in a case between Cameroon and Nigeria on their longstanding boundary dispute. Nigeria argued that the Maroua Declaration was invalid and nonbinding because although the Nigerian head of state had signed it, the agreement had not been ratified either by Parliament or any other governmental process. The ICJ held that under international law the declaration was valid and came into effect upon signing by the head of state.
Case Concerning the Land and Maritime Boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria (Cameroon v. Nigeria)
',

002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 OO2, the minor planet 7499 L'Aquila *1990 OO2, the asteroid 9175 Graun Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *''002 Operazione Luna'' ...

ICJ Reports, paras. 265–268.

Notes

References

* Anderson, Ewan W. (2003). ''International Boundaries: A Geopolitical Atlas.'' Routledge: New York. {{ISBN, 9781579583750. * Charney, Jonathan I., David A. Colson, Robert W. Smith. (2005). ''International Maritime Boundaries,'' 5 vols. Hotei Publishing: Leiden.

External links

The Maroua Declaration (1 June 1975)
PDF text 1975 in Cameroon 1975 in Nigeria Boundary treaties Cameroon–Nigeria border Treaties concluded in 1975 Treaties entered into force in 1975 Treaties of Nigeria Treaties of Cameroon Gulf of Guinea Cameroon–Nigeria relations