Cameroon takes steps against Boko Haram

The authorities in Yaoundé, the Cameroonian capital, have set up tighter border controls in the Far North region to guard against infiltration by jihadist Boko Haram fighters from neighbouring Nigeria as civilians flee insurgent attacks and a Nigerian military offensive, seeking safety across the border in Cameroon. A rapid response military unit has also been deployed and beefed up in the northern regions and some tourist hotels now have armed guards.

“We have revised our security strategy. We have registered all expatriates and established police posts in areas where they work. There are security control posts along the border to reduce illegal entry,” said Bob-Iga Emmanuel, the head of police division at the governor’s office in the Far North region.

However, the authorities admit that it is impossible to completely secure Cameroon’s longest border. There are also similar ethnic communities in Cameroon’s Far North and north-eastern Nigeria who have family on either side of the border, speak the same language and share common culture, making undetected cross-border movement easy.

“Our main challenge is safeguarding our borders so that we don’t import the Boko Haram problem,” said Albert Sidi, who is in charge of economic, social and cultural affairs at the Far North governor’s office.

Insecurity has stifled the movement of people and trade between Cameroon’s Far North region and north-eastern Nigeria – Boko Haram’s stronghold. Northern Cameroon traders have been forced to seek markets in neighbouring Chad or other regions of the country.