There was panic in Danare community, Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State, on Wednesday, June 10, after reports that more than 200 Cameroonian soldiers entered the border settlement during a patrol operation.
The soldiers were said to have crossed into the Nigerian village amid heavy rainfall, moving through residential areas, an action that sparked fear among residents who reportedly fled their homes for safety.
Videos shared on social media, and obtained by First Daily, appeared to show armed troops patrolling parts of the community, further raising anxiety among locals and drawing attention to the incident.
Former Vice Chairman of Boki LGA, Hon. Kingsley Mbia, was said to have arrived at the scene and engaged the troops, urging them to withdraw on the grounds that their presence infringed on Nigeria’s territorial sovereignty. The encounter reportedly ended without any exchange of gunfire.
Community members claimed this was not the first time such an incident had occurred, alleging that it marked at least the fourth cross-border movement involving Cameroonian forces in the area, which shares a porous boundary with Cameroon’s Bodam district.
First Daily recalls previous cross-border incidents in Cross River State between late 2017 and early 2018, when Cameroonian soldiers entered Nigerian communities during pursuit operations linked to separatist violence, resulting in casualties and heightened tensions along the border.
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Residents linked the repeated incursions to instability in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions as well as long-standing disputes surrounding the Bakassi Peninsula, which has remained a sensitive border issue between both countries.
Danare, located along Nigeria’s extensive 1,690-kilometre border with Cameroon, has historically experienced security tensions due to its location in a poorly demarcated frontier zone.
The crisis is further complicated by the fallout from the 2008 implementation of the International Court of Justice ruling that transferred the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon under the Greentree Agreement, leaving several inland communities with disputed boundaries.
Security concerns in the region intensified after 2016 when armed conflict erupted in Cameroon’s North-West and South-West regions, forcing many refugees into neighbouring Nigerian states, including Cross River and Taraba.
Local residents are now calling on the Federal Government to increase military presence along the border and intensify diplomatic engagement with Cameroon to prevent further incursions and protect affected communities.