On Friday, 26th December, 2014, Cameroon’s gendarmes allegedly pursued suspected Boko Haram militants out from the northern frontier of their country up to Bama town in central part of Borno State, killing over 150. The next day, the country’s air force was said to have entered Nigerian airspace and bombarded the insurgents who had earlier attacked five villages near the border of the two countries. But Nigerian authorities debunked the claims, insisting that there was no ‘invasion’.

Already, large swaths of Nigerian territory especially in Borno and Adamawa states that share borders with Cameroon are under the control of the Boko Haram, making things easy for the insurgents.

However, local officials and security experts contend that in order to protect their communities from falling into the hands of Boko Haram, Cameroonian authorities are constantly on the watch and deploying troops to the borders in order to kill or push back insurgents to where they came from.

Consequently, residents say, Cameroonian troops have in the past months repeatedly entered Nigerian territory and back into their country so as to ensure that Boko Haram fighters are kept at bay.

The protracted Boko Haram insurgency, now in its sixth year, which has so far consumed over 13,000 lives, has put to test the military might of Nigeria.

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said on its Twitter handle that there was no foreign airstrike on Nigeria’s territory, insisting that the air raid was carried out by Nigerian Airforce fighter aircraft.

Shedding more light on the development, Spokesman of DHQ, Major General Chris Olukolade said: “What could be the motive of foreign media outfits peddling false/exaggerated claims of a neighbouring army’s exploits on Nigerian soil?” he asked.

However, while casting doubt on what the DHQ said, a senior official from Bama, the town where the contentious invasion took place, who spoke in confidence, said they have evidence that Cameroonian gendarmes were the ones that actually carried out operations around Bama.

He noted that, for those who live in the extreme part of North-Eastern corridors of Nigeria, they can attest to the fact that international borders between Nigeria and its neighbours (Cameroon, Chad and Niger) only exist in name. “They are only defined on maps and recognized by the few make-shift entry points in some designated places, such as in Banki, Baga and Gamboru (Between Nigeria and Cameroon) and in Abadam and Mobbar (between Nigeria and Niger) where you see Immigration, Customs and police posts. “In fact, most of the security outposts are in ruins. It is therefore, not strange for troops from any countries to scale into another country,” he said. “The borders are no longer clear-cut.”

Government, customs and immigration authorities believe that there are over 10,000 unmanned entry points into Nigeria through Borno State from the neighbouring countries. With an area of 61,435sq.km, the state has the largest landmass in the country, an ugly development that gives opportunity for free entry and exit by good and bad people.

It is through these borders that smugglers, peddlers, traffickers and other sundry offenders troop into Nigeria not only from its immediate neighbours but from Sudan, Central African Republic, Mali and Libya. The porous nature of the border despite the official closure by authorities when the Boko Haram insurgency got out of hand underscores the level of difficulty in solving the problem.

Residents believe that this is basically why fighting Boko Haram remains an uphill task for Nigerian authorities. “And that is fundamentally why the Cameroonian authorities, unlike their Chadian counterparts are not taking it lightly,” said Major Sadiq Yunusa, a retired military officer.

Cameroon alone shares a 1,600 km border with Nigeria but controlling the large stretch of land and water locked areas remains impossible.

Since the slamming of State of Emergency on Borno, Yobe and Adamawa State and the subsequent deployment of thousands of troops to confront the Boko Haram monster, the decision by the army to conceal, deny or give half information about happenings in the volatile zone, especially around the borders is common knowledge.

The story of the last week’s encounter between Cameroon troops and the Boko Haram in Bama came from distraught residents who fled after taking advantage of the altercation. Weekly Trust gathered that incarcerated residents, including women and children, escaped from the militants’ cells to Maiduguri during the fight. Similarly, some security officials and leaders of the youth vigilantes, also known as ‘Civilian JTF’ confirmed that Cameroonian troops actually stormed Bama and gave Boko Haram a tough time.

Bama, the second-largest business hub in Borno State was taken over by insurgents in September, 2014 and has remained under their control since then.

Barrister Jibrin Gunda, the legal adviser of the ‘Civilian JTF’ in Borno State says Cameroonian troops actually pursued Boko Haram insurgents into Nigeria. “There was serious fighting between soldiers from Cameroon and Boko Haram insurgents in Bama and the fact is there is nothing unusual about it. Remember that a multi-lateral agreement on counter-terrorism has been signed between Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Part of the agreement is that once troops from any of the countries are engaging the insurgents, they should pursue them to the last point. This is exactly what the Cameroonian troops did,” he said.

It was also gathered that when the fight between Cameroon’s military and Boko Haram intensified, authorities of the francophone country deployed fighter jets for the first time, killing many of the Nigeria-based militants.

Cameroon’s Information Minister Issa Tchiroma was quoted as saying the counteroffensive followed a coordinated assault by Boko Haram on five towns and villages in northern Cameroon. According to him, “Units of [Boko Haram] group attacked Makari, Amchide, Limani and Achigachia in a change of strategy which consists of distracting Cameroonian troops on different fronts, making them more vulnerable in the face of the mobility and unpredictability of their attacks.”

Haruna Isa, a retired Colonel said the precarious security situation in Nigeria should be seen as a period of reflection and cultivation of good relationship with neighboring countries. He said history will not forgive Nigeria leaders and image-makers whom he said have become “pathological deniers of almost every incident that has direct negative implication.”