Donga Mantung: Over 600 Nigerians flee ethnic clashes to volatile Nwa Subdivision!.

The displaced Nigerians, who arrived Cameroon over the weekend, have taken temporary residence in border communities including Ntong, Fa’am Mfe, Nwa and Yang, in Nwa Subdivision.

Local Cameroonian authorities, Monday, confirmed the arrival of the Nigerian refugees. The Mayor and Divisional Officer, DO, of Nwa, have visited Ntong, where majority of the refugees are seeking refuge.

Nwa DO, Esapa Jim Esapa, told reporters during the visit that: “We have come to see the situation and evaluate so as to know the exact measures to be taken…we will work with the council so that security measures are taken.”

For his part, the Mayor of Nwa, Menyong Lawrence Ngansah, has described the influx of the Nigerians as greatly disturbing.

The Mayor said “…they are here. They don’t have where to sleep and what to eat…the first impression I have is that it is a very sad situation.”

Meanwhile, we gathered that violence reportedly began in Nigeria’s Taraba State, after a fatal confrontation between a cattle herder and a farmer last Saturday.

The dispute later spread, resulting in killings, destruction of homes and the loss of livestock. 

Among those killed were an elderly woman, Hajja Mbamnga, and her son, Shuaibu Bammi, who was reportedly killed while trying to protect her.

Nigerian local authorities have imposed a 24-hour curfew on Mbamnga in Taraba State and nearby communities to restore order and prevent further attacks. Security personnel have also been deployed to the affected areas.

Abel Diah, who represents Mbamnga State Constituency in Nigeria’s Taraba State House of Assembly, has called for urgent action by security agencies.

“Security personnel should be adequately deployed to protect vulnerable residents, prevent further attacks or violence, and restore confidence among the people,” Diah said.

The lawmaker has also called for “a thorough, transparent and impartial investigation,” to establish what happened and identify those responsible. 

The Mambila-Fulani conflict, it should be said, is one of the recurring communal crises in Taraba State. 

The prolonged violence prompted the establishment of the Nigerian Air Force 23 Quick Response Base in Gembu, between 2018 and 2019, to strengthen security on the Mambilla Plateau. 

Despite repeated security interventions, disputes over land, grazing routes and community relations have continued to fuel deadly clashes in the area. 

Similar clashes between agriculturalists and pastoralists in 2002 and 2017, claimed hundreds of lives and pushed thousands into Cameroon. 

The struggle combines fierce competition for fertile mountain pastures with toxic disputes over indigeneity and customary land title. 

Both farming groups and migratory pastoralists view the plateau as an existential homeland. The Nigerian State continues to struggle with basic territorial deterrence.

Quick-response military detachments, stationed in Gembu, the local government headquarters, often lack the vehicles and mountain roads needed to reach ambush sites in time. 

The migration into the already volatile Nwa Subdivision, observers say, will create an immediate humanitarian burden on the host community.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3916 of Monday September 19, 2026