On guard: soldiers prepare for official hand over on Thursday
Nigeria prepares for Bakassi handover
Nigeria will finally hand over the oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon on Thursday, putting an end to a decades-old dispute that brought the two countries to the brink of war.
Security is expected to be tight for the formal flag-exchanging ceremony in Bakassi, a peninsula of mangrove islands in the Gulf of Guinea, due to threats of attacks from local armed groups opposed to the transfer.
Despite the security concerns and a court order to delay the handover, Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has insisted it will follow through on its international commitments.
"We want to use this handover occasion to celebrate the goodness of our people, the capacity of our government to honour commitments from government to government, and also to celebrate the friendship between two countries," Nigeria Foreign Affairs Minister Ojo Madueke told Reuters last week.
The two African nations have agreed to work together to explore offshore oil reserves in Bakassi, an area largely untapped because of the border dispute. With its proximity to the Niger Delta, heart of Nigeria's oil production, industry experts believe the peninsula could hold significant amounts of oil deposits that would help boost Cameroon's declining production of around 90,000 barrels per day.
Nigeria, Cameroon and the United Nations are expected to send senior delegations to mark Thursday's handover, which comes six years after the World Court ruled that Cameroon was the rightful owner of Bakassi.
Nigeria and Cameroon almost went to war over the peninsula in 1981.
The Nigerian government agreed to transfer Bakassi two years ago in line with a 2002 World Court order, but sporadic gun battles, political disputes and legal skirmishes have delayed it. About 50 people have been killed in border fighting in the last year.