CAMEROONIAN MINISTERS ON RECENT NIGERIAN VIOLENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L YAOUNDE 000691

SIPDIS

USDOC FOR ITA - BURRESS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/11/2019
TAGS: CM NI PGOV PHUM PREF PREL
SUBJECT: CAMEROONIAN MINISTERS ON RECENT NIGERIAN VIOLENCE

REF: A. 08YAOUNDE 1041

B. ABUJA 1436

C. ABUJA 1422

Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Scott Ticknor for reasons 1.4 (d) and (e)


1. (C) Summary: A senior Cameroonian Minister told
Ambassador that about 5,000 Nigerians crossed into Cameroon
as a result of the recent Boko Haram-related violence in
Nigeria and that the governor of one of the affected Nigerian
states had contacted him to inform him of the capture and
death of Boko Haram leader Muhammad Yusuf. End summary.


2. (C) In a meeting on August 6, Cameroonian Minister of
Territorial Administration Marafa Hamidou Yaya told
Ambassador that as a result of the recent attacks by
Nigeria's Boko Haram, and the Nigerian government's response,
about 5,000 Nigerians came across the border into northern
Cameroon and a handful had been arrested. He thought most of
these Nigerians would return home soon. Marafa added that
Cameroon,s central government control in the regions served
as an excellent information network that would make it
difficult for these Nigerians to cause trouble here.


3. (C) Marafa added that he had received a call from the
governor of one of the affected Nigerian states (he did not
specify which one) that Boko Haram leader Muhammad Yusuf had
been captured. The governor called a half hour later to
confirm that Yusuf was dead. Vice Prime Minister and
Minister of Justice Amadou Ali told Ambassador he received a
similar call from a Nigerian state governor (again,
unspecified, and it is possible it was the same governor).
Both ministers praised what they saw as the Nigerian
government's tough stance against Boko Haram.


4. (C) Comment: UNHCR in Yaounde told us that no Nigerian
refugees crossed the border as a result of the recent
violence in Nigeria, although business at local markets in
border areas had been reduced. However, given the porous
border, Cameroon's estimated four million resident Nigerians,
and Cameroon's open attitude toward refugees (now numbering
about 60,000 other than Nigerians),it is not surprising that
some Nigerians may have fled into Cameroon to escape local
violence at home. It strikes us as noteworthy that in the
midst of handling a crisis, a Nigerian state governor would
reach out to senior Cameroonian ministers. This may be due
largely to personal ties - both Cameroonian ministers are
northerners and have long-standing relationships with
Nigerian officials across the border. It may also be a
tangible sign of the warming official and personal relations
between Cameroon and Nigeria in the aftermath of the settling
of the Bakassi dispute and resumption of Joint Commission
discussions (ref A).
GARVEY