Chaos erupts in Cross River as troops from Cameroon breach Nigerian border village

Residents of Danare in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State were thrown into a state of panic today as over 200 Cameroonian soldiers crossed into the Nigerian border village on patrol, sparking widespread fear and confusion.

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The troops entered the community during a heavy downpour, making their way through residential areas before being confronted by locals, with the sudden appearance of armed foreign soldiers prompting many residents to flee their homes.

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Videos circulating on social media captured the soldiers as they patrolled the community, a sight that only added to the growing unease among residents.

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Former Vice Chairman of Boki LGA, Hon. Kingsley Mbia, intervened in the situation, urging the soldiers to withdraw and emphasizing that their presence was a violation of Nigeria’s sovereignty.

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No shots were fired during the encounter, but the incident marked at least the fourth time that Cameroonian soldiers had crossed into the area, with community members linking the repeated incursions to the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon and unresolved disputes over the Bakassi Peninsula.

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The area remains volatile, with residents still recalling a 2017 shooting incident in which six people were killed in an attack allegedly carried out by Cameroonian forces.

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Danare lies along Nigeria’s 1,690km border with Cameroon, a stretch that has been prone to incursions for over two decades due to historical tensions.

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The tensions stem partly from the 2008 handover of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, following a 2002 International Court of Justice ruling, which left several inland communities, including parts of Boki, with contested and poorly demarcated borders.

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The situation took a turn for the worse after 2016, when Cameroon’s North-West and South-West regions descended into conflict between separatist fighters and government forces, driving thousands of refugees into Cross River and Taraba states.

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Border communities like Danare have often found themselves caught in the middle of the Anglophone crisis, prompting residents to call on the federal government to deploy more security personnel along the border.

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The residents are also urging the government to intensify diplomatic engagement with Cameroon to stop further incursions and protect Nigerian territory.