Maroua , Cameroon ( CNN ) -- Nigeria 's Boko Haram is responsible for kidnapping a French priest in neighboring Cameroon -- the same day the U.S. government labeled the group a terrorist organization -- said the governor of Cameroon 's Far North region . Though Gov . Fonka Awa Augustine ordered his region 's border with Nigeria closed , it may be too late , as eyewitnesses reported seeing the armed militants cross into Nigeria on motorcycles after Wednesday 's kidnapping . `` This is shocking , '' the governor said Friday . `` All expatriates should restrict their movement in this region . They should stay within much secured areas and avoid visiting touristic sites . '' The priest , Georges Vandenbeusch , was snatched from his parish church in Nguetchewe , about 11 kilometers ( 7 miles ) from the Nigerian border , security officials said . `` Our Father Georges was kidnapped just a few minutes after celebrating holy Mass that night , '' Mbah Anatole Asah , a Christian in the parish , said Wednesday night . Witnesses said they believed Vandenbeusch was targeted because he is French and Christian . Boko Haram has declared a `` war on Christians '' as it strives to spread a strict brand of Sharia law across northeastern Nigeria . Boko Haram has not claimed responsibility for Vandenbeusch 's abduction . The abduction comes the same week that the Nigerian army killed seven Boko Haram militants and injured others during a firefight in the Damboa area of Borno state , about 115 kilometers ( 72 miles ) from the Cameroon border . Soldiers also seized a pickup truck , two motorcycles , `` large arms '' and ammunition , according to a statement . The army said it has recently intensified its patrols in the forested areas of Damboa and Gwoza , destroying Boko Haram camps , hideouts and vehicles . Earlier this year , Boko Haram kidnapped a French family of seven , including four children , in Dabanga near the Nigerian border . They were released unharmed days later . Security analysts in Cameroon blame the kidnappings on the lawlessness in north Cameroon and poor security along its porous border with Nigeria . Witnesses said the unarmed Cameroonian border patrol fled when the heavily armed militants approached the border Wednesday night . `` The security is weak . It is very weak , '' legal expert Ngalim Bernard Yongabi said . The kidnappers left bullets in the priest 's home , state radio reported . Security officials said they believe the bullets are a sign of Boko Haram 's willingness to fight as Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan seeks this month to extend a state of emergency in the northeast . The state of emergency was declared in May . Boko Haram militants do not have the financial capacity to conduct large-scale military operations , Yongabi said . `` Their activities in northern Nigeria have been stoked by the Nigerian military . They are now exploiting the weak security in Cameroon to hibernate in Cameroon and take foreigners hostage , '' he said . Fonkam Azu , governor of Cameroon 's northern region of Maroua , said specialized military forces have been sent to secure the border with Nigeria . Dozens of foreigners , including U.S. , French and British citizens , have been pulled back from dangerous areas in northern Cameroon into more secure cities . In freezing the group 's assets and placing travel bans on Boko Haram 's members this week , the U.S. State Department said the organization is responsible for thousands of killings since 2009 . Human rights groups put the number at 3,000 . Boko Haram 's leader , Abubakar Shekau , has a $ 7 million bounty on his head . U.S. designates Boko Haram as a terrorist organization . The terror outfit , whose name means `` Western education is sacrilege '' in the Hausa-Fulani language , has attacked numerous targets since forming in the late 1990s , killing and kidnapping Westerners and bombing schools , churches and mosques , according to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center . Recently , Boko Haram was blamed in an August mosque attack in Nigeria 's Borno state that killed 44 worshippers , September attacks in Benisheikh that left 160 civilians dead , many of them Muslim women and children , and a September assault on an agriculture school in which 50 students were killed in their dorms while they slept . The United Nations has said it wants to try members on war crimes after an attack on a wedding party that killed 30 people . An estimated 8,000 Nigerians have fled to Cameroon to escape the violence , while another 5,000 people have been internally displaced , the United Nations says . Opinion : Should U.S. fear Boko Haram ? CNN 's Eliott C. McLaughlin and Greg Botelho contributed to this report .
Governor orders border with Niger closed after witnesses say militants crossed over . French priest was snatched by Boko Haram , a group advocating a ` ` war on Christians '' State Department called Boko Haram a terror outfit , accusing it of thousands of killings . Bullets left in priest 's home could be a sign that group is willing to fight , officials say .