Customs told to reinforce vigilance to
prevent entry of arms
 |
| Customs seen here scrutinising boxes containing smoked fish at Idenau Beach |
Apparently frightened by the ongoing mass
protests in the South West and North West Regions, Cameroon Customs have been
instructed to step up vigilance at the various entry ports along the borders
with Nigeria in the North West and South West Regions.
At
the Idenau beach cross-border traders described the hell they went through in
thorough security checks they were subjected to.
On
Thursday, January 19, a trader who gave his name as Peter said he spent almost
two hours undergoing customs security scrutiny; something he said was
unusual.
“When
we arrived from neighbouring Nigeria, a Customs officer turned up and asked to
check the content of my cargo [cartoons of smoked fish]. We had to go cartoon
by cartoon and the officer sorted it fish after fish,” the trader disclosed.
Peter
told prying reporters he had never witnessed such a situation ever since he
started trading in smoked fish from Nigeria some fifteen years ago.
A
senior customs official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they have
received firm instructions from Yaoundé to ensure maximum vigilance at the
border during this moment. He said they are told to watch out against the entry
of small arms and light weapons from Nigeria “during this moment when things
are unpredictable.”
We
learned the increased security checks were not isolated to Idenau. A similar
scenario is observed at the Bota Wharf, Tiko Beach and other entry ports in the
South West Region.
The
agitating Anglophone regions share a long border with South Eastern Nigeria.
However, the border remains porous due to endemic corruption and undefined
entry routes.
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