Thread by @DefenseNigeria

( All Photos are for illustrative purposes)

Cameroonian troops yesterday crossed the border into Nigeria, shooting sporadically and sending Nigerians fleeing, some taking refuge in camps for internally displaced persons.

This is a calculated offensive from Cameroon

on Nigeria. They have yet again shown outright defiance to Nigeria’s territorial sovereignty and dammed the consequences of crossing the international boundary to intimidate and harass already alarmed citizens.

The govt owned media in Cameroon accuse Nigeria of sheltering Anglophone insurgents. Since the media is governments owned, it means the Yaounde is preparing the people for any eventuality. This is the second such incursion in the space of one month

The Nigerian army which has been monitoring Cameroonian moves have forward positioned field artillery troops and air assets. The army has said it will have no choice than to send troops across the river that demarcates both countries and create a buffer on the other side.

Militarily it is a mismatch. Cameroon has a standing army of 14,000 men. Nigeria has a standing army of 250,000 and another 50,000 in reserve. The disparity in air power is even more ridiculous. These are delibrate unprovoked attacks designed to elicit a response from Nigeria.

Its like there is disappointment when that response never materialize so they try again. There seems to be a foreign power prodding Cameroon to ply the path of confrontation with Nigeria with assurance of military support should hostilities erupt.

Cameroonian troops have received training from U.S and French troops despite horrific human rights atrocities. The U.S has a drone base in Garoua 60km from the Nigerian border.

Here we see Cameroonian soldiers leading a woman and child to an unknown location, blindfolding her with her baby at her back and executing. All hell will break lose if images of Nigerian troops carrying out such horrific attacks ever came out.

We are not privy to the information the Defence intelligence or army intelligence are privy of, neither do we know why Nigeria continues to exercise restraint. But we do know that field artillery forces are the standoff attack component of the army. From the safety of Nigerian

..territory military bases and other targets are well within range of the 155s and 122s. Not since the days of Abacha has offensive field artillery units been deployed to the Cameroon border.

Once again we are witnessing the same ole dynamics at play. Each time the Nigerian

..military is making serious gains we have anyone front. It used to be Boko Haram and herdesmen. When that wasnt enough we had ISWAP. When ISWAP was being dealt a decisive blow bandits pop out of no where. When bandits was at the receiving end of a reinvigorated military

..we had Sheikh Gumi calling for an end to hostilities and Amnesty for Bandits. Then we had a resurgent Boko Haram. A resurgent ISWAP. But there has been a paradigm shift. We now have a revamped military. After years of delays the Super Tucano

..is finally here. Complimented by the JF-17 fighters, both with precision guided munitions. Wing Loong II and CH-4 armed attack drones with PGMs as well, 3rd Gen. Battle Tanks, Tank Destroyers and long range artillery. The result is there for all to see. For the first time

..since the insurgency, we have witnessed the mass surrendering of fighters. Over 15,000 so far. Four top ISWAP commanders eliminated within a month. They have installed a new commander. Chances are he will meet the same fate in a matter of days or weeks.

It has become clear the Nigerian military is now too powerful for any armed insurgency to effectively contain. The likes of Sowore and Omokri with their $500,000 grants have tried their best, but its has not been enough to stir insurrection and make Nigeria ungovernable.

Suddenly we are faced with a hostile belligerent neighbour staging unprovoked attacks. Taunting Nigeria in a manner that, frankly makes no sense. Another front designed to force the military to divert forces away from the front to meet this new challenge,

..and "hopefully" stretch the already overstretched Nigerian military to near breaking point.

Anybody who thinks these events are random and there's nothing to it is in denial.