Nigeria is due to hand over the remainder of the Bakassi peninsula to Cameroon Aug. 14, but it has a number of options to allow it to keep the territory. (With Stratfor Map)
Ten Nigerian militants and two Cameroonian soldiers died July 24 during a skirmish at Kombo Adjase, a settlement in the disputed Bakassi peninsula. The Niger Delta Defense and Security Council (NDDSC) militant group claimed responsibility for similar attacks against Cameroonian forces July 20.
Violence will increase leading up to Aug. 14, when Cameroon expects Nigeria to hand over its remaining holdings in the southern portion of the tiny peninsula. Nigeria will likely draw out the dispute beyond the deadline, using militant proxies to destabilize Cameroon, because whoever controls the southern part of the peninsula potentially has maritime jurisdiction over hydrocarbon deposits in the Gulf of Guinea.