•Boko Haram fighters on the prowl in Gwoza Borno State, AFP PHOTO

•Boko Haram fighters on the prowl in Gwoza Borno State, AFP PHOTO

Boko Haram has seized control of a Nigerian town after soldiers deployed there fled to take refuge across the border in nearby Cameroun, a police source said Tuesday.

“Boko Haram fighters moved into Ashigashya” overnight Monday, where they slaughtered three people in front of a church, a Cameroun police source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Almost 500 Nigerian soldiers fled the Nigerian border cities of Ashigashyia and Kerawa over the weekend to take refuge from Boko Haram militants on Camerounian territory.

Nigeria’s military dismissed the claims and maintained that the troops were “charging through the borders in a tactical manoeuvre” when they found themselves on Camerounian soil.

The police officer said security was “deteriorating day by day in the border towns” as even those charged with keeping the peace flee attacks by Boko Haram.

Straddling the border between Cameroun and Nigeria, Ashigashya is bisected by a small river which marks the border between the two countries.

The police source said Boko Haram is now trying to take the Camerounian side of the city.

“Camerounian gendarmes fled the brigade to sleep at school in the city. When they tried to return to the police this morning, they were greeted by fire from Boko Haram” from the Nigerian side, said the police officer.