The Cameroon–Nigeria border is 1,975 km (1,227 mi) in length and runs from the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

with

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

in the north to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

in the south.

Description

The border starts in the north at the

with Chad in

Lake Chad Lake Chad (french: Lac Tchad) is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Central Africa, which has varied in size over the centuries. According to the ''Global Resource Information Database'' of the United Nations Environment Programme ...

, proceeding through the lake via a NW-SE straight line down to the estuary of the Ebedi river. The border follows this river as it flows to the south-east, before turning south, proceeding overland in this direction via a series of irregular lines and some small rivers (such as the Kalia). In the vicinity of the parallel 11°30 the border turns to the south-west, turning north-west at the town of Banki, and then south-west through the

Mandara Mountains The Mandara Mountains are a volcanic range extending about 190 km (about 120 mi) along the northern part of the Cameroon–Nigeria border, from the Benue River in the south () to the north-west of Maroua in the north (). The highest e ...

and

Atlantika Mountains The Atlantika Mountains, also known as the Alantika Mountains, are an extension of the Cameroon line of volcanic mountains, spanning the border between Nigeria and Cameroon. They lie to the southeast of Yola, the capital of Adamawa State in Nige ...

, occasionally utilising rivers such as the Mayo Tiel and Benue. At about the parallel of 6°30 the border shifts to the west, using irregular lines and rivers such as the Donga, before continuing in a south-west direction via various overland lines and rivers (such as the

Cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...

and Akwayafe), before entering the

Bight of Benin The Bight of Benin or Bay of Benin is a bight in the Gulf of Guinea area on the western African coast that derives its name from the historical Kingdom of Benin. Geography It extends eastward for about from Cape St. Paul to the Nun outlet of ...

just west of the Bakassi peninsula.

History

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

had (via the

Royal Niger Company The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the ''United African Company '' and renamed to ''National African Company'' in 1881 and to ''Royal Niger C ...

) administered the area around

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

since 1861 and the Oil River Protectorate (

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and c ...

are the surrounding area) since 1884. As Britain expanded into the interior, two colonies were created - the

Southern Nigeria Protectorate Southern Nigeria was a British protectorate in the coastal areas of modern-day Nigeria formed in 1900 from the union of the Niger Coast Protectorate with territories chartered by the Royal Niger Company below Lokoja on the Niger River. The ...

and the

Northern Nigeria Protectorate Northern Nigeria ( Hausa: ''Arewacin Najeriya'') was a British protectorate which lasted from 1900 until 1914 and covered the northern part of what is now Nigeria. The protectorate spanned and included the emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate ...

. In 1900 the administration of these areas was transferred to the British government, with the Northern and Southern (including Lagos and Calabar) protectorates united as the colony of Nigeria in 1914. Meanwhile, against the backdrop of the

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonization of most of Africa by seven Western European powers during a short period known as New Imperialism ...

, Germany had claimed Cameroon (''Kamerun'') in July 1884. The Scramble culminated in the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergenc ...

of 1884, in which the European nations concerned agreed upon their respective territorial claims and the rules of engagements going forward. Cameroon boundary changes

In April–June 1885 Britain and Germany signed a treaty outlining a border in the southern areas of Nigeria and Cameroon utilising the Rio del Rey and the Cross River. The boundary was extended northwards as far as Yola in July–August 1886. Disagreements as to the location of the rivers mentioned in these treaties led to another treaty on 1 July 1890 modifying the southern section of the boundary, clarified by mutual agreement on 14 April 1893. A treaty of 15 November 1893 then extended the boundary north into Lake Chad; this section was clarified in further detail on 19 March 1906. The entire boundary was then confirmed by mutual agreement in February–March 1909 and March–April 1913. When the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

broke out in 1914, Britain and France invaded Cameroon and eventually defeated the Germans in 1916. on 22 July 1922, Cameroon became a

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...

mandate, with the vast majority of the colony going to France, and smaller areas along the Nigerian border (

Northern Cameroons British Cameroon or the British Cameroons was a British mandate territory in British West Africa, formed of the Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Today, the Northern Cameroons forms parts of the Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states of ...

and

Southern Cameroons The Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British League of Nations mandate territory of the British Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961, it has been part of the Republic of Cameroon, where it makes up the Northwest Region and Sou ...

, the former split into two sections) in the west to Britain. A British

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

of 26 June 1923 stated that thenceforth the British mandated areas would be considered administratively to form part of Nigeria. The boundary between the British and French mandates was delimited in 1930 and then finalised on 9 January 1931. This mandate/trusteeship arrangement was affirmed by the UN in 1946. On 2 August that same year Britain finalised the border between Northern and Southern Cameroon, which today forms much of the

Taraba State ) , image_map = Nigeria - Taraba.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location of Taraba State in Nigeria , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , ...

section of the border. As the movement for decolonisation grew in the post-

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

era, Britain and France gradually granted more political rights and representation for their African colonies. Cameroon gained full independence in January 1960, followed by Nigeria in October. In February 1961 a

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

was held on the future of Britain's Cameroon mandate, as a result of which Northern Cameroons voted to join Nigeria and Southern Cameroon voted to join Cameroon, thereby fixing the border at its current position. In 1994 a long-simmering dispute over the ownership of the Bakassi peninsula was forwarded to the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...

, ruling that the territory belonged to Cameroon in 2002. Despite considerable opposition to the ruling within Nigeria, the peninsula was handed to Cameroon during the period 2006–08. Opposition within Bakassi to Cameroonian annexation has led to the

Bakassi conflict The Bakassi conflict is an ongoing insurgency which started in 2006, in the Bakassi Peninsula of Cameroon waged by local separatists against Cameroonian government forces. After the independence of Cameroon and Nigeria the border between them w ...

, which has merged to some degree with the wider

Anglophone Crisis The Anglophone Crisis (), also known as the Ambazonia War or the Cameroonian Civil War, is an ongoing civil war in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. Following the suppression of the ...

in the country, with vocal demands for the separation of the former Southern Cameroons as

Ambazonia Ambazonia, officially the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, also referred to as Amba Land, is an unrecognised breakaway state in West Africa which claims the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon, though it currently controls almost ...

.Cameroon's Separatists Intensify Attacks to Protest Dialogue
Voice of America, Sep 24, 2019. Accessed Sep 26, 2019. The far north of the border meanwhile has been heavily affected by the

Boko Haram insurgency The Boko Haram insurgency began in July 2009, when the militant Islamist and jihadist rebel group Boko Haram started an armed rebellion against the government of Nigeria. The conflict is taking place within the context of long-standing is ...

in recent years.

Settlements near the border

Cameroon

* Bri *

Bodo Bodo may refer to: Ethnicity * Boro people, an ethno-linguistic group mainly from Northwest Assam, India * Bodo-Kachari people, an umbrella group from Nepal, India and Bangladesh that includes the Bodo people Culture and language * Boro cu ...

* Blame * Afade * Diba * Limani * Ndoughoula * Ziguague * Bounderi * Banki * Mogode * Demsa * Gerele * Mbaga * Beka * Tchamba * Balkosa * Salpeo * Dodeo * Abong * Tamian * Loua * Adere * Abatoum * Esengi * Obonye * Mbenmong

Nigeria

* Dambaru * Ngala * Rann * Gilego * Kumshe * Backi *

Madagali Madagali or Madagli is a town and local government area in Adamawa State, Nigeria, adjacent to the border with Cameroon. History The LGA was created in 1991 when Taraba State was created out of Gongola State. It borders Michika to the south, ...

* Musuma * Maiha * Wuro Bokka * Belel * Konkul * Gurin * Buli * Sampa * Kojoli * Tapare * Djawe * Kanyaka * Mbarka Manga * Tosso * Lissam Sambo * Pambo * Okwa * Danare * Okuri * Esuokon * Ikang

Border crossings

The two main crossings are at Banki (NGA)- Mora (CMR) in the north and Mfum (NGA)- Mamfe (CMR) in the south.Ben West (2011) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Cameroon'', pg. 54Williams, Lizzie, (2012) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Nigeria'', pgs. 59-60

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameroon-Nigeria border Borders of Cameroon Borders of Nigeria International borders