evidence: As flags exchanged hands between Nigerian and Cameroonian authorities, so did the fortunes of the population in Bakassi, where many of the people are from the Efik ethnic group, which doubles as a lingua franca across Cross River. It was at this ceremony that Nigeria officially transferred authority over the territory to Cameroon in agreement with a 2002 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which upheld Cameroon’s claims to Bakassi peninsula. [...] Two months later, Nigeria withdrew over 3,000 troops but continued to control some parts of the peninsula until June 2008 in line with the pact. This gave Nigerian nationals the chance to return and resettle in Nigeria, become Cameroonian citizens or continue to stay in Bakassi as resident aliens in Cameroon.