UN court backs E Guinea in Gabon dispute over islands in oil-rich waters1 day ago Share Save Wedaeli Chibelushi & Yusuf Akinpelu BBC News Share SaveNurPhoto via Getty The ruling took place at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, NetherlandsThe United Nation's top court has sided with Equatorial Guinea in a row with Gabon over three islands in potentially oil-rich waters. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Equatorial Guinea's claim - based on a 1900 treaty dividing up French and Spanish colonial assets - should be honoured. In a final and binding ruling, the ICJ said Conga, Mbanié and Cocoteros were held by Spain, and then passed to its former colony Equatorial Guinea at independence in 1968. In 2016, following years of mediation by the United Nations, the two nations agreed to let the ICJ settle the matter. "Gabon and Equatorial Guinea have to live side-by-side, we can't move away from each other.