Nigeria Transfers oil-rich Region to Cameroon

Nigeria transferred the oil-rich Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon on Thursday, implementing a delayed 2002 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). However, threats from local militant groups forced organizers to relocate the handover ceremony from the peninsula's main town of Abana, 190 km away to the Nigerian city of Calabar. The transfer was initially set for 2006, but was delayed by violence, political disputes and legal tussling. [PE]