The police in Cross River State on Monday said six residents of Danare community in Boki Local Government Area were shot by gendarmes from Bodam community during an invasion on the Nigerian territory by Cameroonians.
Hafiz Inuwa, the Commissioner of Police, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Calabar.
Inuwa said Bodam, on the border with Nigeria’s Boki Local Government Area, had been in crisis with Danare community over the international land dispute.
Inuwa said after visiting Danare community that although no life was lost, six residents of the community were shot by the Cameroonians.
He said: “We found out that six persons were shot and they are currently in the hospital as the pellets were being removed from their bodies.
“They were shot by the people of Bodam village from Cameroon. We have advised the people to restore normalcy and shun all forms of crisis and allow the government to take charge.
“They told us that they were preparing to repel the attack because the Cameroonians had encroached almost 43km into their land.”
The commissioner further explained that the Danare people were appealing to the government to restore electricity, drinking water, communication and police post in the area.
Dr. Itam Abang, the member representing Boki I State Constituency in Cross River State House of Assembly, told the News Agency of Nigeria that over 1,000 cocoa, plantain and banana farms were also destroyed by the Cameroonians.
Itam said majority of residents in the area were mainly farmers and appealed to the Federal Government to intervene by providing the people with adequate security and social amenities.
He said: “When we got there, the Danare people had already mobilised for war.
“Luckily, we arrived on time in company with the Commissioner of Police and we had to prevail on them not to go into the forest.
“From where we were standing, we could hear gunshots because the Cameroonians had really encroached into the Danare community.
“And from what my people told me, the Cameroonians have destroyed over 1,000 of their farmlands and this is a huge loss to the farmers.
“We advised residents in the community to hold their peace that the state and Federal Government were going to step in with a view to restoring peace and normalcy in the area.”