Catholic Priest in Cameroon Says Parish “paralyzed” by Heavy Boko Haram Insurgency

Mount Oupaï is 1,494 metres high and lies close to the border with Nigeria, in the far north of Cameroon. It falls in a region that is served by the Catholic Diocese of Maroua-Mokolo.

“Five areas have been affected. The villages of Bigdé, Douval and Vara are already almost completely empty”, the Priest tells ACN, adding that the terrorist cells have changed their modus operandi.

“In the past they entered villages, ostentatiously yelling war cries. But recently they have come discreetly, taking advantage of the full moon, to surprise people in their sleep. They kill the fathers of the family and the teenagers, especially the boys. Then they pillage the family’s property and destroy everything they can’t carry off,” he says.

ACN reports that towards the end of 2021, the Nigerian government announced that Boko Haram members were being disarmed and reintegrated into society.

“Through several operations, thousands of insurgents, including fighters, non-combatants and family members, were laying down their weapons in different parts of Borno state, in north-eastern Nigeria. Just last week, according to General Musa, a high-ranking Nigerian officer, 7,000 members of Boko Haram and its offshoot ISWAP (Islamic State’s West Africa Province) surrendered,” the Catholic charity reports.

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However, according to information received by ACN, Boko Haram has shifted its sphere of operations to more rural areas of Nigeria and especially into the frontier regions of Cameroon and Lake Chad.

The Pontifical charity reports that it had received information that since September 2021, Boko Haram has been inflicting regular attacks in Mutskar on the Nigerian border with Northern Cameroon.

These attacks, ACN reports, have devastated Church life and slowed down all pastoral activities.

According to the Catholic charity, Boko Haram raiders seem to be interested in cereals, goats and sheep, poultry and clothing, and “they strip the people of everything they need to live.”

The Catholic entity says, in reference to the embattled Cameroonian town, “Existence was naturally precarious in a region where hunger is common and resources are scarce, but now the population has been forced into an exodus towards villages further north where they are exposed to other types of insecurity.”

According to the Catholic Priest who spoke to ACN, people who choose to stay in the villages that fall under attack are “forced to sleep away from their pitiful shacks in the cold and in terrible conditions.”

In his appeal for solidarity, the Catholic Priest says, “The situation is really worrying, and we count on your prayers.”

The charity foundation reports that it has approved a project to support a refugee camp for victims of Boko Haram in Minawao, in the diocese of Maroua-Mokolo, in the far North of Cameroon.

“Funds have also been allocated to print 2,000 Bibles in Mafa, the language spoken in 12 Parishes in the same Diocese,” ACN indicates in the March 31 report, and adds, “The local Christians wish to improve their knowledge to be better grounded in their faith and thereby be better able to face the challenges posed by their increasingly radical Muslim surroundings.”

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.