164 Borders without belonging: statelessness, displacement, and human insecurity in post-han- One of the study’s central contributions lies in illuminating how displaced Bakassi residents — particularly those who remained in Cameroon — have experienced not just loss of homeland, but also loss of legal identity and political agency. It adds to existing literature on statelessness and identity politics in Africa by showing how nationality laws, when coupled with weak institutional support, perpetuate multi-generational exclusion. The study also draws attention to the gendered impacts of statelessness, where women are disproportionately affected by violence, land insecurity, and political silencing, extending the work of scholars like Oke-Chinda (2021) and Dayil (2015) on gender and displacement in post-conflict settings. A significant insight from this research is the role of media and discursive silence in reinforcing structural neglect. The erasure of displaced Bakassi communities from public discourse and policy agendas reflects a broader pattern of narrative control in post-conflict environments, where state-centric legal victories eclipse grassroots suffering. This dimension contributes to critical media studies and peacebuilding research by demonstrating how invisibility in national narratives correlates with institutional inaction and the denial of restorative justice. By focusing on the human costs of legalistic conflict resolution, this article advances the argument that peace settlements must be reimagined through inclusive, people-centered approaches. The findings resonate with scholarship on postcolonial statehood, African border disputes, and transitional justice, emphasizing that durable peace requires integrating human security, legal identity, and participatory governance mechanisms into post-adjudication processes. The Bakassi case thus offers both a diagnostic and prescriptive contribution to understanding the long-term implications of international law on vulnerable populations. Future research should further investigate the comparative experiences of displaced populations affected by other African border realignments, such as in the Ilemi Triangle or the Sudan-South Sudan boundary. In addition, interdisciplinary inquiries that combine legal anthropology, gender studies, and conflict resolution can deepen understanding of how statelessness is negotiated and resisted at local levels. As African states continue to confront overlapping crises of borders, belonging, and displacement, scholarship must remain attuned not only to the formal outcomes of international law, but to the everyday survival strategies and claims to justice advanced by those left in its wake. Brazilian Journal of African Studies | Porto Alegre | v. 10, n. 19, Jan./Jun. 2025 | p. 144-169