The International Court of Justice ICJ has settled a protracted border dispute between two West African nations of Niger and Burkina Faso.

The border dispute is believed to have started as far back as in 1927 during colonial time led by France in the two West African nations.

The International Court of Justice demarcated territory covering an area of 380km, over half the length of the border to settle the dispute.

Representatives from both countries expressed their satisfaction with the International Court of Justice ruling and described it as a success for both countries.

Niger’s Justice Minister Marou Amadou told the Agence France Presse that although they have lost some territory as a result of the ruling of the court, they are content with the ruling.

“We gain a little in the north; we lose a bit in the south. Both countries win out because there’s no more border dispute; I think that the court sliced up the territory fairly’’, he said.

The two countries have tried for decade to solve the dispute themselves by setting up a joint technical commission but to no avail.

Burkina Faso’s Minister of Territorial Administration and Security Jerome Bougouma also welcomed the ruling and urged the two countries to respect the ruling for peaceful co-existence between the two countries.

“We are parting as good friends, very good friends, there was often confusion concerning the security forces, patrols and the collection of taxes, that’s all over now’’, he added.

Leaders of the two countries met in the border regions in 2006 to try and dissipate tensions caused by incursions of security forces and customs officials on either side of the frontier but it did not solve the problem.

They then filed a joint suit with the International Court of Justice in July 2010 when they saw they cannot solve it by themselves and promising to abide by the court’s final decision.

The President of the International Court of Justice Peter Tomka said the judges were guided by a 1927 ruling issued by the governor-general of French West Africa and a map published by a French government agency in 1960.

The court then asked both countries to consider the needs of the nomadic population, who reside in the north of the area when laying down the border to bring an end to the case.

The court also commended the actions of the two countries and urged other nations to emulate their shining example to bring global peace and stability.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

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