YAOUNDE, March 14 (Reuters) - Cameroon and Nigeria agreed their long-disputed maritime border off the Bakassi Peninsula on Friday, ending years of uncertainty as to who owns sections of Africa's oil-rich Gulf of Guinea.

After decades of sometimes bloody disputes over the Bakassi Peninsula, Cameroon took Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer, to the International Criminal Court in The Hague in 1994.

A 2002 ruling awarded the peninsula to Cameroon, and the United Nations set up a special commission to oversee the withdrawal of Nigerian forces from the territory, which is now scheduled to be completed by August.

Friday's deal, signed in Cameroon's capital Yaounde, finalised the maritime border which cuts through the Gulf of Guinea.

"Today is a glorious and remarkable day, a milestone in the history of Cameroon-Nigeria relations," Nigerian delegation head Prince Bola Ajibola told Reuters after the ceremony.

"Many people had expected our two countries to go to war, but we have proven to them and the entire international community that boundary disputes, no matter how serious they may be, can be resolved through peace and dialogue."

Gunmen suspected of belonging to a Nigerian rebel group killed 21 Cameroonian soldiers in Bakassi last November in an unexplained attack.

Illegal guns and instability are rife in parts of southern Nigeria, where Niger Delta militants have targeted oil installations demanding a greater share in oil dollars. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com) (Reporting by Tansa Musa; writing by Alistair Thomson)

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