Surprised and harassed by Boko Haram’s atrocities from mid-2013, the Cameroonian authorities initially responded with strong military and judicial responses that helped to contain the threat and regain control of the situation.

 This study highlights the particular situation of the Mbororo minority, which has settled in the Northwest English-speaking province that is more conducive to livestock farming than the Southwest.

The Far North region of Cameroon has been shaken since 2013 by the Boko Haram conflict, which originated in the northeast of Nigeria (Borno State) and spans four countries (Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger). The complex interactions between the Boko Haram jihadist movement and the local criminal milieu make this region a relevant case study to reflect on the relationship between crime and conflict.

The Mbororo are Fulani who, unlike the Fulbe, have not become sedentary and have practiced nomadic herding for a long time. However, over the past several decades, they have been undergoing a sedentarization process in northern Cameroon (Septentrion), to the point that many of them have become semi-sedentary and agro-pastoralists.

This community of herders faces environmental, land, fiscal and criminal insecurities.