Boko Haram defector apprehended in refugees camp

A Boko Haram suspect at the Minawao Camp has been detained by officials in charge of security after he was caught on June 18, 2015.

During an interrogation, he confessed to have been with the Boko Haram movement and that he voluntarily left the sect to find asylum in the refugee camp. He told the authorities he no longer works for the sect.

The administrative authorities and defence forces assigned to the various camp suspect that among the 39 730 refugees in the Minawao camp and the 5,000 in the current census, Boko Haram rebels might be part of them. Due to lack of physical evidence, they cannot be subject to arrest.

Since the opening of the camp on July 23, 2014, law enforcement forces have arrested nearly 10 suspects supposed to belong to Boko Haram in the camp but June 18 was the recent discovery.

Suspicion

On that same June 18, 2015, 10 people of Cameroonian nationality including two women who were presented to the military as the hostages who escaped the Boko Haram group, were arrested at the Lwadaf village border in the Department of Mayo-Tsanaga. They are currently being questioned by the forces of law and order.

"We must reinforce vigilance because we no longer know who is who. Every day, individuals posing as refugees arrive spontaneously at the camp. They pass for Cameroonians and even come to restore with us”, analyzed a gendarme stationed at Mokolo.

A humanitarian worker in the camp service stated: "when asked for their registration, they are elusive and often have fleeting glances. They have the air of suspicious persons who seem to be hiding something from us. Even the camp translators suspect that some belong to Boko Haram.

“It's due to these mannerisms that we were able to get our hands on the previous suspects. We are more than vigilant. Despite the remoteness of the camp 70 kilometres from the Nigerian border, there is a strong feeling that there are defectors from Boko Haram”, he concluded.