[JURIST] The Nigerian military withdrew from part of the disputed Bakassi peninsula [UN backgrounder; Wikipedia backgrounder] on Monday, nearly four years after the International Court of Justice ruled [ICJ materials] that the territory and its oil reserves should be handed over to Cameroon. Implementation of the ICJ ruling was turned over to a special UN-appointed commission [UN backgrounder], under which a withdrawal was eventually negotiated. A ceremony lowering a Nigerian flag and raising that of Cameroon formally marked the transfer of control over the northern part of the peninsula; the rest will remain under Nigerian civilian control for two more years.

Most residents of Bakassi say they plan to leave the peninsula to be resettled elsewhere in Nigeria, but they are permitted to remain and abide by Cameroonian rule. The two nations' dispute over the territory [backgrounder] flared into bloodshed in 1981 and 1994. BBC News has more. From Lagos, Vanguard has local coverage.