On New Year’s Eve, the Nigerian government temporarily shut down its land boundaries with Cameroon, Chad and Niger as a means of impeding crossborder activities by militants of the radical Islamic terrorist group, the Boko Haram.
And while the impacts of that decision are only beginning to be felt in Cameroon’s predominantly Muslim northern regions, with reports of rising fuel prices and stranded traders, authorities there are almost certain they have blown the cover on a Boko Haram refuge.
Reports indicate that members of the extremist group are increasingly present in Lagdo, a cosmopolitan settlement in the North Region, following calls for vigilance by local administrative authorities in the regional headquarters Garoua.
“They are easily identifiable with their bizarre dressing. They wear long beards and red or black headscarves,” Peter Kum, a reporter with the French language daily, La Nouvelle Expression reported Tuesday, January 3. According to him, since several months Lagdo locals have testified that the strangers are combing surrounding villages and actively preaching anti-Western sermons, establishing units and proposing huge amounts of money to those willing to follow them.
Presiding at a December 15 security coordination conclave devoted to maintaining peace and order before, during and after the 2011 end-of-year festive period, the Governor of the North Region, El HadjGambo Haman did not mince words. He instructed security forces to be on the alert, noting the increasing influx and presence of Boko Haram militants in parts of the region.
“The Boko Haram being chased from Nigeria’s northeast, as well as thousands of runaway Chadian soldiers in irregular situation here must be closely monitored to avoid unwanted trouble throughout the national territory,” he warned. Separate sources suspect that the presence of the extremist Boko Haram militants has soared steadily following increasing clampdowns on them by the Nigerian government especially following the Christmas Day blasts that left close to fifty dead.
Security sources and administrative officials in the North Region, speaking on condition of anonymity, say for the time being, there is no need to panic. They are claiming that intensified intelligence monitoring implies the activities of the terrorists are under control. “We cannot begin to arrest suspects because the law does not allow for that. At the moment, they are not breaking the law,” one said.
Following the fatal Christmas Day attacks in Nigeria claimed by the group, authorities in Cameroon’s Far North Region, which also shares porous borders with Nigeria, have also reinforced surveillance. Several Quran learning centers have been reportedly shut down, while Islam teachers are being closely watched by intelligence operatives. Many of them are grumbling following several interrogations they have been put through.
THE POST
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