Nigeria,Cameroon Give Conflicting Report On 480 Nigerian Army Found In Cameroon

The Cameroonian military authorities have confirmed the disarming of Nigerian soldiers in the country. This is coming on the heels of reports that about 480 Nigerian soldiers yesterday fled into Cameroon, following fierce fighting with Boko Haram militants. The Defence Headquarters, has however, explained how Nigerians soldiers crossed into Cameroon.
Confirming the disarming of Nigerian soldiers, a Cameroonian Army spokesman, Lt. Col. Didier Badjek, said those involved are now being accommodated in schools. Clashes are said to be continuing in the border town of Gamboru/Ngala.
Boko Haram on Sunday released a video in which it said it had established an Islamic state in the towns and villages it controls in North-East Nigeria. The group’s five-year-old insurgency had intensified in recent months despite the deployment of thousands of extra troops to the worst affected areas.
Last week, a group of soldiers refused to follow orders to fight Boko Haram, saying the militants were better equipped.
Insurgents also seized one of two main police training academies, which are near the town of Gwoza, captured earlier this month. The soldiers are currently in the Cameroonian town of Maroua, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the Nigerian border, Lt. Col. Badjek told the BBC.
Cameroon had officially closed its 1, 600-kilometre border with Nigeria to help contain the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, but correspondents said this was impossible to enforce in the remote areas near the fighting.
••• Soldiers never defected to Cameroon – DHQ
The Nigerian Defence Headquarters yesterday clarified that it was the battle against Boko Haram across the Nigeria/Cameroon border that took Nigerian troops to the neighbouring country.
The statement by the Defence Headquarters noted that the report and insinuation that the troops defected to Cameroon was not true and therefore, misleading. “Issues concerning Nigerian troops who found themselves in Cameroon during fierce battle with terrorists was just part of the offensive against the insurgents that operate sometimes across borders,” DHQ noted.
In a post on its website Defence Headquarters said: “The Nigerian troops that were found in Cameroon was as a result of a sustained battle between the troops and the terrorists around the borders with Cameroon, which saw the Nigerian troops charging through the borders in a tactical manoeuvre.
“Eventually, they found themselves on Cameroonian soil. Being allies, the normal protocol of managing such incident demanded that the troops submit their weapons to assure the friendly country that they were not on a hostile mission.
“Following necessary discussions between Nigerian and Cameroonian military authorities, the issues have been sorted out. Subsequently, the troops are on their way back to join their unit in Nigeria.
“The reference to the incidence as defection is therefore, not appropriate considering the discussion between the two countries’ military leadership and the series of contacts with the soldiers who have confirmed that they are safe.”
“Meanwhile, troops are repelling a group of terrorists who are trying to enter the country through Gamboru/Ngala. A group of them who fizzled into the town are being pursued.”