On 1 June 1975, in Maroua (Cameroon), President Ahmadou Ahidjo and Nigerian head of state Yakubu Gowon sign the Maroua Declaration — the agreement extending the maritime boundary into the Gulf of Guinea.

The text starts from the mouth of the Akwayafe River and pushes the delimitation line farther into the gulf. Languages: English and French; immediate effect on signature.

In the later boundary case, Nigeria challenged validity for lack of parliamentary ratification. The International Court of Justice held in 2002 that the declaration bound the parties from signature by the heads of state.

The ICJ ruling thus confirmed the force of treaties signed by heads of state even without later domestic formalities, under international law.

For Cameroon and Nigeria, 1 June 1975 remains a marker of the Bakassi dispute and maritime delimitation.

The text appears in the ICJ Cameroon v. Nigeria file and in maritime-boundary collections.

The Maroua Declaration of 1 June 1975 remains the Cameroon–Nigeria maritime delimitation agreement confirmed by the ICJ.

Image: Gulf of Guinea; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Maroua Declaration. Treaty text: ICJ — Cameroon v. Nigeria (PDF, archive).