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Tag: Cameroon

  • 81 people, mostly school children, kidnapped in Cameroon

    81 people, mostly school children, kidnapped in Cameroon

    More than 80 people, mostly students, were kidnapped from a school in the city of Bamenda in western Cameroon by gunmen on Sunday, government and military sources said.

    No one immediately claimed responsibility for the abduction in the English-speaking region where separatists are fighting to form a breakaway state.

    The separatists have imposed curfews and closed down schools as part of their protest against President Paul Biya’s French-speaking government.

    “In total 81 people were kidnapped including the school principal. They were taken to the bush,” a military source said.

    A report claimed 78 students, a driver and another teacher were among those kidnapped.

    A government spokesman said it was keeping track of an event but that it could not comment further.

    According to Journalducameroon.com, the gunmen stormed the Presbyterian Secondary School Nkwen before rounding off the students to an unknown destination.

    The Principal of the school, a driver and another teacher were also kidnapped, local sources confirmed.

    Though figures are still not exact for the moment, a source at the North West Governor’s office said they remain cautious for the moment to give out figures not to create panic in some schools.

    Most of the students kidnapped, were students of Form Five preparing for the GCE O’ Level and have appeared in a video posted online by pro separatist activists.

    Authorities of the North West region say security forces have launched an operation to rescue the children and called on the local community to remain calm.

    The separatist movement gathered pace in 2017 after a government crackdown on peaceful demonstrations.

    Many people have fled Bamenda and other centres to seek refuge in more peaceful Francophone regions.. (Reuters/NAN)

  • Cameroon’s 85-year-old Biya wins re-election in landslide – State TV

    Cameroonian President Paul Biya won re-election with 71 per cent of the vote, the Media said on Twitter on Monday.
    The win extends Biya’s 36-year rule and cementing his place as one of Africa’s longest-standing rulers.
    Victory, which gives the 85-year-old a seventh term in office, came amid claims from opposition candidates that the election was fraudulent.
    Scattered violence connected to a separatist movement in the western Anglophone regions also kept most people there from voting.
    Reuters/NAN
     

  • Cameroon appoints Clarence Seedorf, Kluivert as national team coaches

    Cameroon appoints Clarence Seedorf, Kluivert as national team coaches

    Clarence Seedorf has been appointed Cameroon’s new manager after a deal for Sven-Goran Eriksson fell through.

    Former Real Madrid, AC Milan and Netherlands midfielder Seedorf will be assisted by his former international teammate Patrick Kluivert.

    The length of Seedorf’s contract with the five-time African champions will be announced later this month.

    Seedorf, 42, has previously managed AC Milan, Chinese club Shenzhen and Deportivo La Coruna.

    He lasted less than six months in all three roles.

    Seedorf, who replaces Hugo Broos, will have at least a year to work with the team before the 2019 Nations Cup tournament starts on home soil.

  • Boko Haram insurgents hindering demarcation of Nigeria, Cameroon border – UN

    Boko Haram insurgents hindering demarcation of Nigeria, Cameroon border – UN

    The demarcation of the Cameroon-Nigeria border continued to face challenges due to insecurity in areas affected by the presence of Boko Haram, the UN has said.

    This is contained in a ‘Report of the Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, on the activities of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS)’.

    Guterres also cited the unrest in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon as partly contributing to the challenges faced by the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission.

    “Insecurity in areas affected by Boko Haram continued to hinder the activities of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission in the northernmost regions of the land boundary between the two countries.

    “Social and political unrest in the English-speaking north-western and south-western regions of Cameroon raised additional security concerns.

    “As a result, the demarcation of the border and the subsequent emplacement of pillars continued to be a challenge,’’ he said.

    Against that background, parties to the Mixed Commission met in Lagos, Nigeria, on March 19 and March 20 to finalise the implementation of reinforced security measures for field operations.

    In this regard, Mr Guterres noted the activities of his Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, who also serves as Chair of the Mixed Commission.

    He said Mr Chambas, on March 18 in Abuja and on May 15 in Yaoundé, “engaged in bilateral consultations with the heads of the Nigerian and Cameroonian delegations to work on outstanding areas of disagreement.

    “Overall, the parties reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the judgment of the International Court of Justice of October 2002 and to fully demarcating the land and maritime boundaries shared by the two countries.

    “My Special Representative also successfully concluded fundraising efforts to replenish a trust fund for pillar construction along the land boundary.

    “Consequently, pillar emplacement is expected to resume in October 2018 at the end of the rainy season.’’

    On the conflicts between herdsmen and farmers, he said UNOWAS supported the ECOWAS Commission in the development of a regional action plan on transhumance.

    Mr Guterres said the office also established an informal working group on pastoralism and conflict prevention with the participation of the UN and regional entities working on the issue.

    “In Abuja, from April 24 to April 26, UNOWAS participated in a ministerial and experts meeting on conflicts between herders and farmers in West Africa, organised by the ECOWAS Commission and the Government of Nigeria.

    “Relevant recommendations included the need for States to report on the implementation of the ECOWAS transhumance protocol,’’ the UN Chief said.

    On Boko Haram, he said his Special Representative continued to support diplomatic, security and humanitarian responses to the terrorist organisation.

    “On Feb 28, my Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel took part in the International Conference on Lake Chad, hosted by the Government of Nigeria with the support of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

    “The Heads of State and Government of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon, the Niger and Nigeria adopted a declaration reaffirming their commitment to increase cooperation to safeguard Lake Chad and address the socio-economic impact of climate change and instability.

    “In his capacity as my High-level Representative for Nigeria, my Special Representative also held discussions with security institutions and other key stakeholders on the situation in the Lake Chad basin with a view to enhancing regional cooperation, reintegrating ex-combatants and dealing with root causes.

    “Through the facilitation of my Special Representatives for West Africa and the Sahel and for Central Africa, the governors of territories bordering Lake Chad met for the first time in Maiduguri, Nigeria on May 8 and May 9.

    “They established the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum to enhance joint efforts towards building peace and fostering sustainable development across the Lake Chad basin.

    Guterres said governance and development efforts must continue to be accompanied by a robust security response.

    He commended the efforts of the countries participating in the Multinational Joint Task Force and encouraged strengthened partnership among the affected countries and with regional organisations, including the African Union.

    “I congratulate the Government of Nigeria for conducting trials of Boko Haram suspects and urge the acceleration of the reintegration of victims and other categories of individuals associated with extremist groups in all affected countries.

    “I encourage national authorities to provide critical humanitarian assistance to vulnerable communities.

    “In addition, I reiterate my call on the international community to increase political, humanitarian, logistical and financial assistance to the affected countries, the Lake Chad Basin Commission, the Joint Force of the G-5 Sahel and the Multinational Joint Task Force, and to advance the disbursement of pledged funds.’’

  • Cameroon’s President Biya to run for 7th term in office

    President Paul Biya of Cameroon will run for re-election in October, he said on Friday, aiming to extend his 36-year rule and maintain his place on a shortening roster of long-standing African leaders.

    Biya, who came to power in 1982 when his predecessor retired, is seeking a seventh term in office that could see the 85-year-old rule well into his 90s.

    It would leave him in rare company after former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh were ousted in 2017.

    Of Africa’s living rulers, only Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled uninterrupted for longer.

    “I am willing to respond positively to your overwhelming calls. I will stand as Your Candidate in the upcoming presidential election,” Biya said in a tweet on Friday.

    Biya, who has ruled virtually by decree since taking office, scrapped term limits from the constitution in 2008, allowing him to run again and sparking riots in which over 40 people were killed.

    The election, scheduled on Oct. 7, comes at a turbulent time for the Central African country and for Biya.

    A separatist insurgency in the western English-speaking regions has killed 84 troops in September 2018, while a drop in the price of its key cocoa and oil exports has weighed on the economy.

     

  • Shocking! 3 Taraba varsity students killed by falling trees in Cameroon

    Three students of the Taraba State University lost their lives when they were hit by falling trees during a rainstorm at the Bouba Njidda National Wild Life Park in Cameroon.

    The Deputy Registrar, Information and Publication of the university, Malam Sanusi Sa’ad, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Jalingo on Wednesday.

    Sa’ad said that the incident occurred on April 16 during a devastating rainstorm at about 3:15 p.m.

    He said that the students were 400 level students of the Biological Science Department of the university on a research trip to neighboring Cameroon.

    The spokesman named the dead students as Nancy Sam-Achak, Grace Thomas and Yusuf Mohammed, the president of the department’s students’ association.

    He said that the Head of the Biological Science Department, Dr Robert Houmso, who was also in the trip and 16 other students were injured during the incident.

    Sa’ad said that all the injured people were currently receiving treatment at the Garoua Hospital in Cameroun.

     

  • EFCC witness in alleged N2.3bn fraud against Orji Kalu ‘relocates’ to Cameroon

    EFCC witness in alleged N2.3bn fraud against Orji Kalu ‘relocates’ to Cameroon

    Akpan Udoh, an accountant in the Abia State Government House, who was scheduled to testify in the alleged N3.2 billion fraud trial of the former Abia Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, has relocated to Cameroon.

    The counsel to the prosecution told a Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday that Mr. Udoh was listed as a witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    The EFCC had on October 31, 2016 slammed a 34-count charge bordering on N3.2 billion fraud against Kalu and his former Commissioner for Finance, Ude Udeogo as well as Kalu’s company — Slok Nigeria Ltd.

    Mr. Kalu and others allegedly committed the offences between August 2001 and October 2005.

    The accused had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    So far, the prosecution had called no fewer than 12 witnesses since the trial began.

    At the trial of the case at the previous adjournment, the EFCC Prosecutor, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) had called the 13th prosecution witness, Tobore Ovie, who introduced himself as an operative with the EFCC.

    He was led in evidence by the prosecutor who also tendered some documents through the witness.

    At Tuesday’s proceedings, the witness was reminded that he was still under oath and counsel to the first accused, Awa Kalu (SAN) began cross-examination.

    The witness told the court that he did not know if the prosecution’s intended witness, Mr. Udoh, an accountant in Abia State Government House who EFCC claimed was on the run, is still alive

    He said that he had not met Mr. Udoh before and that he did not reside with the first accused.

    During re-examination, the witness said that Mr. Udoh had deliberately evaded giving evidence and that he had earlier been cooperating with the commission before they lost contact with him.

    According to the witness, they were able to reach his brother who claimed that Mr. Udoh had relocated to Cameroon.

    “Further efforts to get his call logs from his service provider showed that he has been hovering between Cameroon, Republic of Benin and Katsina State.”

    The prosecution called its next witness, who, in his evidence-in-chief introduced himself as Emojevwe Eboh, a compliance officer with a commercial bank.

    He told the court that his scope of duty involves responding to requests from regulator bodies and law enforcement agencies.

    The witness disclosed that the EFCC wrote a letter to the bank requesting for the account statement and opening packages of General Ventures Nigeria Ltd.

    He said the required authenticated documents including the certificate of identification were made available to the commission.

    The prosecution tendered the documents the witness identified and the letter the commission wrote to the bank, requesting those documents and were marked as Exhibits R six to R 60.

    The witness identified the first accused and Godwin Akubuike as the shareholders and directors of General Ventures Nigeria Ltd.

    He further listed 40 local cheques credited into the company’s account.

    Justice Mohammed Idris adjourned the case until March 28 and March 29 for cross-examination.

    Mr. Kalu was alleged to have utilised his company to retain in the account of a commercial bank the sum of N200 million.

    The sum was said to have formed part of funds illegally derived from the coffers of the Abia State Government.

    Slok Nigeria Ltd and a man, Emeka Abone, who is still at large, were also alleged to have retained in the company’s account the sum of N200 million on behalf of the first accused (Kalu).

    The accused were alleged to have retained about N2.5 billion in different accounts which funds were said to belong to the Abia State Government.

    Cumulatively, the accused were alleged to have diverted over N3.2 billion from the state government’s treasury during Mr. Kalu’s tenure as governor.

    The offences contravened the provisions of Sections 15(6), 16, and 21 of the Money Laundering (Prohibitions) Act, 2005.

    The offences also violated the Money Laundering Act of 1995 (as amended) Act No.9 of 2002 and Section 477 of the Criminal Code, Law of the Federation, 1990.

     

  • Suspend Cameroon over alleged torture of 47 political activists, SERAP tells AU

    Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to the African Union Chairperson and President of Rwanda Paul Kagame urging him to “urgently call an Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) to suspend the rights of membership of Cameroon from the AU to put pressure on the government to end alleged torture and ill-treatment of 47 political activists forcibly returned to Cameroon by the Nigerian authorities, enforced disappearances, politically motivated trials, and gross and systematic violations of citizens’ human rights in the country.”

    The organization also urged the AU to “maintain targeted travel sanctions and asset freezes against the authorities until they meet specific human rights and good governance benchmarks.”

    In the letter dated 9 March 2018 and signed by SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale the organization said: “Despite the massive violations of citizens’ human rights, and the continued absence of accountability in Cameroon, the AU has largely remained on the side-lines. Failure to act in the face of the gross and systematic violations by the authorities would seriously undermine the credibility of the AU and the legitimacy of its Constitutive Act, including its commitment to fight impunity as expressed in Articles 4(h) and (o) of the Act.”

    The organization said, “The AU Constitutive Act identifies respect for human rights, and the rule of law as universal values and requires all member states to promote and adhere to them. By taking punitive action against the government of Cameroon for disregarding the fundamental principles of the AU, African leaders will be helping to achieve a positive resolution of the lingering human rights and humanitarian crisis in that country.”

    According to the organization, “The AU now must recognize and openly acknowledge that the situation in Cameroon threatens the entire region. AU leaders cannot continue to ignore the violations of human rights inflicted on the people of Cameroon by their own government, and now must take serious steps to help alleviate their suffering and end continuing abuses.

    The letter read in part: “SERAP urges the AU to intervene effectively to end Cameroon’s long-standing human rights and humanitarian crisis. Only strong and concerted pressure on the government can end the country’s human rights and humanitarian emergency.”

    “The government’s longstanding assault on political freedoms and human rights lies at the heart of Cameroon’s political crisis. Enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions and torture of political detainees have continued for many years, as the authorities routinely arrest and harass political activists, and violently break up peaceful protests.”

    “According to our information, 47 refugees and asylum seekers, mostly leaders of the people of Southern Cameroon and who were recently forcibly returned to Cameroon have continued to face torture, ill-treatment, politically motivated trial and other human rights abuses by the government.”

    “The AU should publicly condemn ongoing torture and ill-treatment of the 47 political activists facing persecution and abuses by authorities and call for their immediate and unconditional release.”

    “The situation in Cameroon is characterized by widespread and massive violations of human rights and humanitarian law with growing numbers of victims lacking access to an effective remedy. The authorities continue to use state institutions such as the police and the justice system as a weapon against political activists, opposition leaders, civil society activists, and human rights defenders.”

    “Arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and unlawful detentions, as well as reports of torture and abuse by the Cameroon authorities violate Cameroon’s regional and international human rights obligations and commitments including under the AU Constitutive Act and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.”

  • SERAP drags FG, Cameroon to African Commission over illegal return of refugees, asylum seekers

    Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned the Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights requesting “the urgent intervention of the Bureau of the Commission to end the ongoing human rights violations of naturalized Nigerians, refugees and asylum seekers forcibly returned to their country by the Nigerian authorities.”

    The organization urged the Chairperson and Bureau of the Commission “to urgently hold an extra-ordinary session of the African Commission to address the illegal and unfair return of 51 Cameroon refugees, asylum seekers and naturalized Nigerians, and the continuing violations of the rights of the returnees by the government of Cameroon.”

    The organization also urged the Commission to “speak out strongly and condemn the unfair treatment of the refugees, asylum seekers and naturalized Nigerians by the government of Cameroon, and request the government to immediately release them from unlawful detention.”

    The petition dated 2 February 2018 and signed by SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale stated that, “International law is very clear on the fact that individuals, including asylum seekers, even if they have entered the country illegally, are entitled to enjoy human rights. SERAP is seriously concerned that forced return of naturalized Nigerians, refugees and asylum seekers is both legally and morally wrong, and would set a bad precedent for the rest of the sub-region.”

    The organization said that, “Naturalized Nigerians, refugees and asylum seekers came to Nigeria for protection and to escape the gross violations of fundamental human rights in Cameroon. By returning them to Cameroon, Nigerian authorities have failed to provide reasonable opportunity to them to establish their case through judicial review of the risk of persecution, torture and other human rights abuses in Cameroon.”

    The petition read in part: “The government of Cameroon is also reportedly violating the rights of returned naturalized Nigerians, refugees and asylum seekers to personal liberty, freedom of movement (including the right to leave their country), fair trials, freedom of expression and depriving them of their liberty to be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. The situation in Cameroon is characterized by widespread and massive violations of human rights and humanitarian law with growing numbers of victims lacking access to an effective remedy.”

    “Cameroon’s treatment of the returned naturalised Nigerians, refugees and asylum seekers falls with the ‘worst crimes’ of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which in article 7 defines crimes against humanity to mean acts such as deportation, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law, torture and other similar acts that are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population.”

    “Both Nigeria and Cameroon do not have any extradition treaty. We consider the forced return of Cameroon asylum seekers from Nigeria illegal and unfair, as it failed to meet a high standard of procedural fairness and justice. Both Nigeria and Cameroon have ratified the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.”

    “According to our information, the Nigerian authorities illegally and unfairly returned naturalized Nigerians, refugees and asylum seekers on Friday, January 26, 2018. The returnees are mostly leaders of the people of Southern Cameroon and who have been living in Nigeria for several years.”

    “SERAP argues that the government of Nigeria breaches its international obligations including those requiring the government to ensure that refugees and asylum seekers are not returned to jurisdictions such as Cameroon, where they would face persecution and human rights violations, such as torture and other ill-treatment. Nigeria is also bound by the principle of non-refoulement, the obligation not to return a refugee to a country where he is at risk of persecution.”

    “Similarly, both Nigeria and Cameroon are states parties to the UN Convention against Torture which in article 3 provides that no State Party shall return, refoul or extradite a person to another State where there are grounds for believing that that person would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”

    “SERAP also notes that asylum or in other words the possibility for an individual to seek refuge is recognised in Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as “a fundamental human right.” The Declaration guarantees the right to life, liberty and security, to equal protection of the law and the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. As such, the Nigerian authorities should have afforded the naturalized Nigerians, refugees and asylum seekers their basic human rights including the right to a fair trial.”

    “Article 5 of the African Charter of Human and Peoples’ Rights, which prohibits torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by been interpreted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights as including a prohibition of returning a person to a country where he or she would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”


  • FG to repatriate 91,000 Nigerians from Cameroon

    The Federal Government has commenced the process of repatriating 91,000 Nigerian refugees from Cameroon.

    The move, which is a tripartite arrangement between Nigeria, Cameroon and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), will ensure the repatriation of the Nigerians who are presently at the Minawao Refugee Camp.

    The Head Humanitarian, Resettlement and Assistance Department, Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI), Dr. Sidi Ali, said the process was designed to back bring back the Nigerian refugees who were desperate to return to the country.

    He said the federal government is hoping that by the end of February the final process of bringing the people back to the country would have commenced fully.

    He said: ” As we speak the Nigerian, Cameroonian governments and UNHCR have formed the tripartite commission with the sole responsibility of bringing the refugees back to Nigeria. They are currently in Minawao camp in Cameroon. The processes has already began, we are doing the profiling, making arrangements and putting the reception centers in place. Initially we are looking at February, early February but by and large, we are hoping that by the end of February the final process of bringing them back into the country will commence.

    “Considering the relocation of IDPs and stabilization of camps, returnees registration and profiling, the number of people that we are bringing back to the country from our neighbouring countries particularly Cameroon has grown from 80,000 last year to 91,000. It is a task that we must be able to accomplish in 2018 by putting all hands on deck to bring these people back to Nigeria.”