Tension erupted in Danare community, Boki Local Government Area of Cross River State, on Wednesday after armed Cameroonian soldiers reportedly entered the area, triggering a confrontation with local youths and women who accused them of encroaching on Nigerian territory.
Videos circulating on social media showed scores of residents challenging the heavily armed troops, who were alleged to have claimed that the community fell within Cameroonian jurisdiction.
The situation nearly escalated into violence as the soldiers reportedly fired several warning shots into the air in an attempt to disperse the growing crowd.
Eyewitnesses said more than 50 Cameroonian soldiers, armed with sophisticated weapons, advanced into the border community, prompting angry residents to block their movement and demand that they leave the area immediately.
According to residents, the soldiers also warned members of the community against recording videos of their activities.
A former member of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Cletus Obun, who represented the constituency, confirmed the incident and described it as part of a recurring pattern of incursions by Cameroonian forces into border communities in the state.
Obun alleged that the soldiers repeatedly fired near a Catholic Church in Danare I along the road leading to Budam after local youths resisted their movement deeper into the community.
He blamed the repeated border tensions on what he described as Nigeria’s failure to adequately secure the area, alleging that Cameroon has continued to challenge aspects of the United Nations-backed border demarcation that followed the International Court of Justice ruling on the Bakassi Peninsula.
“Were it not for the vigilance of local youths, Cameroon would have occupied Danare,” Obun said, recalling a similar incident that allegedly occurred in 2013 during the implementation of the ICJ judgment.
He further lamented that repeated appeals by community leaders, including former Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba, for increased security presence along the border had not received the necessary attention from relevant authorities.
Reacting to the development, the spokesperson for the 13 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Major Yemi Sokoya, confirmed that the military was aware of the reports.
He said an official statement would be issued after the situation had been properly reviewed.
Also commenting on the incident, the Chairman of Boki Local Government Area, Mrs. Beatrice Etta Nyiam, said her office had received reports from residents regarding the alleged unauthorised entry of Cameroonian military personnel into Danare.
She assured residents that security agencies and government authorities were actively handling the matter and appealed for calm.
Nyiam urged members of the public to remain law-abiding and avoid actions capable of escalating tensions in the border community.
The latest incident has renewed concerns over security and territorial disputes in communities along the Nigeria-Cameroon border, with residents calling for a stronger and more permanent security presence to prevent future confrontations.
