The Nigerian Army has debunked the report alleging that some Nigerian villages were attacked by Cameroonian (Ambazonian) seperatists on Sunday.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu, refuted the claim in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Nwachukwu said Nigerian troops deployed at Danare received information on Sunday morning about the said attack contrary to the ‘misinformation.’
He said the troops immediately mobilised to Bashu community, which was allegedly under attack.
“On their arrival, it was revealed that Bashu was not under attack and no external incursion was recorded; rather the separatists attacked Obonyi 2 and Njasha, both of which are communities located in the Republic of Cameroon.
“Four victims of the attack, who crossed over to Nigerian territory were later rescued by our troops and operatives of Nigerian Immigration Services. “The attack was therefore not within Nigerian territory as claimed,” he said.
Nwachukwu urged members of the public not to panic by disregarding the said information. Also, the Commissioner of Police in Cross River State, Aminu Alhassan, has refuted the reported killing of 20 persons in Boki Local Government Area of the state on Sunday.
Alhassan told (NAN) on Monday that there was not even a single attack in the local government area.
The commissioner noted that the report was not only fake, but a “figment of the writer’s imagination” and urged journalists to always crosscheck facts before publication.
“There was no militancy attack in Boki Local Government Area, not to even talk of killing 20 people as alleged by the report.
“There was an attack and deaths, but it was in neighbouring Cameroon and not on Nigerian territory.
“For the sake of emphasis, there was no attack in Boki Local Government Area or in any part of Cross River,” he stressed.
The report had stated that militants of a separatist group, Ambazonia, attacked Boki Local Government Area on Sunday, in which 20 people were killed.
Meanwhile, the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) has said that at least 500 fleeing Cameroonian refugees have crossed the border into Bashu community in Cross River.
The Director-General of SEMA, Mr Princewill Ayim, stated this in an interview with NAN in Calabar on Monday.
The refugees were said to be fleeing from the alleged invasion of their community by Ambazonian fighters.
“We got the information yesterday [Sunday] that Ambazonian fighters invaded a community in Cameroon which shares border with Bashu community in Boki Local Government Area of Cross River.
“We learnt that while some people were shot dead in the Cameroonian community, no fewer than 250 were injured, while at least 500 have fled into Bashu for protection. “We have constituted a multifunctional team of officials from SEMA, UN High Commission for Refugees.
“Others include National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced and Caritas Foundation to assess the situation after which we can determine the exact number of people that have fled into Nigeria,” Ayim said.
He, however, said that there was no report of anybody either shot or killed in Bashu community.