---
title: "Reopened Nigeria-Cameroon borders give fresh impetus to Boko Haram’s economy of violence"
description: "The two countries must cooperate to stop Boko Haram from taking advantage of open borders to revive their operations."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "ISS TODAY OP-ED"
author: "Célestin Delanga"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/celestin-delanga/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-04-14-reopened-nigeria-cameroon-borders-give-fresh-impetus-to-boko-harams-economy-of-violence/"
published: "2025-04-14T21:37:17"
updated: "2025-04-14T21:37:19"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 932
---

# Reopened Nigeria-Cameroon borders give fresh impetus to Boko Haram’s economy of violence

> The two countries must cooperate to stop Boko Haram from taking advantage of open borders to revive their operations.

By Célestin Delanga · Published 14 April 2025, 23:37 SAST · Updated 14 April 2025, 23:37 SAST

## Key points
- Nigeria and Cameroon must cooperate to stop Boko Haram from taking advantage of open borders to revive their operations.
- The inauguration of a livestock market in Banki by Nigerian and Cameroonian governors marks a significant revival of cross-border trade, disrupted since 2014 due to Boko Haram violence.
- While the reopening of borders has boosted local economies and increased customs revenue, it has also allowed Boko Haram to regroup and target traders, leading to ongoing security threats.
- Recent data indicates a surge in attacks on traders and transporters, with 29 ambushes reported between September and November 2024, highlighting the precarious situation along trade routes.
- Experts urge Nigeria and Cameroon to enhance security measures and intelligence operations to combat Boko Haram's resurgence and protect local communities from insurgent violence.

## Content

On 27 January 2025, the governors of Borno in Nigeria and Cameroon’s Far North Region inaugurated a [livestock](https://fr.africanews.com/2025/01/29/reouverture-du-marche-de-banki-un-espoir-de-relance-economique-et-de-paix/) market in Banki, once a major hub of cross-border trade between the two countries. The Amchidé-Banki border post, like several others between Cameroon and Nigeria, was closed in 2014 at the height of Boko Haram activity in the region.

In early 2014, the violent extremist group had moved to Banki, where it planned attacks on Cameroon. Nigeria closed the border to prevent further incursions. Cameroon closed the Fotokol-Gambaru [border](https://www.france24.com/fr/20150303-tchad-armee-soldats-nigeria-boko-haram-dikwa-ndjamena-douala-route) crossing after the 2015 Gamboru battle and attacks on other nearby border posts.

As military operations and the region’s stabilisation strategy improved security, the Amchidé-Banki border was reopened in 2019, followed by the Fotokol-Gambaru crossing in 2021.

#### **Border crossings and sites of Boko Haram activity, Nigeria-Cameroon border**

![Nigeria Cameroon border Boko Haram](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ISS-Nigeria-Cameroon-border-map.jpg)The closures had disrupted the booming cross-border market that sustained the border communities’ economy. For most of its neighbours, Nigeria is the region’s [leading](https://www.undp.org/fr/africa/waca/blog/au-cameroun-retour-aux-affaires-avec-le-nigeria#:~:text=Le%20Nigeria%20est%20le%20premier,li%C3%A9s%20%C3%A0%20leur%20position%20g%C3%A9ographique.) economic and trade partner. Goods from Nigeria pass through Amchidé, Limani and Fotokol on their way to Chad, Sudan and the Central African Republic.

The three towns are therefore important transit centres and warehouses for local traders, creating jobs and revenue through taxes that local authorities can use for development initiatives.

Overall, reopening the borders has contributed to Cameroon’s national economy through customs duties. Far North customs data reviewed by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) revealed that before Boko Haram attacks started in 2013, the most profitable office in the region was Limani, which generated annual revenue of XAF1,114,791,860 (about $1,900,000). In 2024, after reopening the borders, revenue reached XAF2,201,420,676 ($3,800,000). In Fotokol, XAF1,519,630,651 ($2,600,000) was collected in 2024.

But Boko Haram has not been defeated, and still presents a security threat to both countries. While [reopening](https://actucameroun.com/2019/05/16/cameroun-nigeria-la-frontiere-amchide-banki-rouverte-au-trafic/) borders has undoubtedly revitalised the regional economy, it has also benefited the insurgents – allowing them to regroup and target traders and local communities.

The now thriving Amchidé-Banki market enables border communities to trade in livestock and food products. But it can also, as in the past, serve as a source of supplies for Boko Haram and give fresh impetus to the militants’ economy of violence. It could, for example, use the newly inaugurated cattle market in Banki to resell [stolen](https://enactafrica.org/enact-observer/boko-haram-rustles-cattle-for-survival-in-lake-chad-basin) cattle, which has become a major source of the group’s income.

The Lake Chad Basin Commission member states – Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger – initiated the 2019 Regional Stabilisation Strategy to enable the recovery of livelihoods in areas afflicted by Boko Haram. The strategy involves maintaining security and providing essential services and immediate means of subsistence to affected communities.

The revival of cross-border trade and economic activities has greatly contributed to the stabilisation process by strengthening local communities’ resilience. It also led to a substantial return of displaced people to their [communities](https://www.jeuneafrique.com/depeches/8591/politique/cameroun-a-amchide-ville-fantome-pres-du-nigeria-larmee-face-a-boko-haram/) of origin because of the prospect of renewed socioeconomic opportunities.

But since traffic across the northern Nigeria-Cameroon borders has resumed, traders and transporters have increasingly been targeted by the terrorists. Attacks and ambushes aimed at traders and transporters on the road, and night raids on communities, occur almost daily in both countries.

According to ISS data, between September and November 2024, at least 29 ambushes or attacks were launched against vehicles transporting trade goods from Banki or Amchidé. Trucks are often emptied of their contents and burnt, while drivers and traders are kidnapped or killed.

The roads linking Banki-Amchidé-Limani and Fotokol-Maltam to National Route No 1 are rutted and unpaved, passing through bush for several kilometres. Boko Haram often places improvised explosive [devices](https://www.koaci.com/article/2023/03/22/cameroun/politique/cameroun-4-soldats-tues-dans-lexplosion-dune-mine_168054.html) on this stretch of road.

The Banki-Amchidé-Limani and Fotokol regions are threatened by the two major Boko Haram factions – Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap) operating around Fotokol in the north, and Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad, based in the Mandara Mountains in the south. Boko Haram’s presence threatens the progress and stability enabled by the reopening of the trade route.

Recent [reports](https://www.jeuneafrique.com/1672067/politique/au-moins-19-militaires-camerounais-tues-dans-une-attaque-de-boko-haram/) also show large-scale Iswap attacks on military posts in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, aimed at weakening the security apparatus, stocking up on weapons and taking advantage of the booming cross-border trade. This upsurge in terrorism could undermine the confidence of communities in their countries’ security forces. It also heightens the vulnerability of locals, often leading them to cooperate with the insurgents in return for improved safety.

It is paramount that Cameroon and Nigeria reinforce physical security and augment intelligence to detect and disrupt terror operations. A proactive strategy could prevent the spread of Boko Haram cells along borders and major trade routes, as was the case with past military efforts.

In 2015 and 2016, [operations](https://www.crisisgroup.org/fr/africa/central-africa/cameroon/cameroon-confronting-boko-haram) by the Cameroonian army, supported by Cameroonian and Nigerian contingents of the Multinational Joint Task Force, dismantled Boko Haram hideouts and suicide bomber training bases in Nigeria’s Ngoshié and Kumshé villages.

These operations should involve the air force and Operation Hadin Kai, led by the Nigerian army. Joint operations should aim to dismantle Boko Haram cells that are targeting cross-border traders, their vehicles and local residents.

A military escort system dedicated to securing goods convoys is also needed to protect trade flows and deter Boko Haram activity. Military escorts would also help limit illicit trafficking and prevent any infiltration by Boko Haram agents attempting to resupply.

Road infrastructure must also be improved. Cameroon’s Far North Region special reconstruction and development programme should prioritise upgrading the Mora-Amchidé and Fotokol-Maltam roads, as has been [requested](https://actucameroun.com/2025/02/16/extreme-nord-retour-sur-la-premiere-journee-de-la-visite-au-pas-de-charge-du-sgpr-ferdinand-ngoh-ngoh/) by local authorities. **DM**

*Célestin Delanga, research officer, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Regional Office for West Africa and the Sahel.*

*First published by*[*ISS Today*](https://issafrica.org/iss-today).