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French Cameroon opposition candidate calls for presidential vote recount

3, November 2018

French Cameroon opposition candidate calls for presidential vote recount 0

Cameroon opposition candidate Maurice Kamto has called for an independent recount of last month’s presidential poll, urging the international community to “assume its responsibilities.”

Kamto, who according to official results, came second with 14.23 percent of the vote behind incumbent Paul Biya, posted the appeal online in a video late on Friday.

He called for an independent, international committee accepted by all sides to carry out the recount and vowed to abide by its conclusions.

Kamto, who had claimed victory the day after the October 7 election some two weeks before the official results were in, has been denounced as an “outlaw” by the government.

But he insists that the count was marred by widespread fraud and that the Constitutional Council’s decision to declare Biya the victor was completely at odds with the true result.

“We will never accept the results proclaimed by a biased Constitutional Council,” he said, adding that he would campaign peacefully against the official result.

Kamto, a 64-year-old lawyer and leader of the Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon (MRC), called on other opposition leaders to join his campaign.

Kamto was one of seven candidates seeking to unseat President Paul Biya, who has ruled the West African country for 35 years.

According to official results, Biya was returned to power with 71.2 percent. He is due to be sworn in on Tuesday.

(Source: AFP)

Now that you are here

The Cameroon Concord News Group Board wishes to inform its faithful readers that for more than a decade, it has been providing world-class reports of the situation in Southern Cameroons.  The Board has been priding itself on its reports which have helped the world to gain a greater understanding of the crisis playing out in Southern Cameroons. It hails its reporters who have also helped the readers to have a broader perspective of the political situation in Cameroon.

The Board wishes to thank its readers who have continued to trust Southern Cameroon’s leading news platform. It is therefore using this opportunity to state that its reporters are willing to provide more quality information to the readers.    However, due to the changing global financial context, the Board is urging its readers to play a significant role in the financing of the news organization.  It is therefore calling on its faithful readers to make whatever financial contribution they can to ensure they get the latest developments in their native Southern Cameroons, in particular, and Cameroon in general.

Bank transaction: Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Banking IBAN: GB51 BARC 2049 1103 9130 15

Swift BIC BARC GB22XX

SORT CODE 20-49-11, ACCOUNT NUMBER – 03913015 Barclay PLC, UK

The Board looks forward to hearing from the readers.

Signed by the Group Chairman on behalf of the Board of Directors

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Email: soteragbawebai@gmail.com

 

 


Deployment of troops in Anglophone neighbourhoods in Yaounde, an intimidation of Ambazonians

23, September 2018

Deployment of troops in Anglophone neighbourhoods in Yaounde, an intimidation of Ambazonians 0

Cameroon’s Defence Minister, Joseph Beti Assomo has reportedly issued a ministerial order requesting the Francophone dominated Secret Service and the army to place all Anglophone neighborhoods in Yaoundé under surveillance. The directive was detailed in a confidential memo bearing the signature of the French Cameroun politician.

Local media houses in Yaoundé have also reported that Minister Joseph Beti Assomo made the decision following intelligence that Southern Cameroons secessionists had taken up residence in some neighbourhoods in the nation’s capital.

Joseph Beti Assomo cited popular Anglophone residential areas such as Obili, Biyem-Assi and Etoug-Ebe in the ministerial order. Cameroon Concord News understands Yaounde is now struggling with an influx of Southern Cameroons civilians who are fleeing the war.

Ever since the crisis in Southern Cameroons started, the Biya regime has raided Anglophone settlements in Yaoundé several times and carried out massive arrests of many without identification papers. Many of those arrested have never been seen or heard again.

Minister Beti Assomo says the security alert and deployment of troops in Anglophone areas in Yaounde will run from October 1st to 7th, after the Presidential election.

By Rita Akana


Another Rwanda is silently playing out in Cameroon and the AU is doing nothing

9, September 2018

Another Rwanda is silently playing out in Cameroon and the AU is doing nothing 0

For close to two years, the situation in Southern Cameroons has continued to deteriorate and nobody, not even the government, believes that it is time to change course.

The killings have continued on both sides, but the government still holds that a swift military victory is possible before the presidential election that will take place next month. The hardship in the two English-speaking regions of the country has increased exponentially over the last year and all what is on the minds of government authorities is keeping the people in check.

Yaoundé authorities seem to be frozen in time. In other places, the rule is for dialogue to ensure that things do not deteriorate, but ever since the conflict started, the government has kept on insisting on using an iron fist instead of an olive branch.

Many analysts are wondering when the killing and madness will come to an end. They hold that a different approach could have produced different results and this issue could have been laid to rest a long time ago.

The little infrastructure the two regions possess is deteriorating on a daily basis as both parties do what they can to prove that they have an upper hand. Today, the road leading to Bamenda from East Cameroon has been destroyed by Southern Cameroonian fighters and this is going to cost the region a huge fortune.

Many people agree that Southern Cameroonians have suffered a lot, but the killing of fellow Southern Cameroonians by Ambazonian fighters and the willful destruction of roads and other economic infrastructure has left many people wondering.

Some observers are calling for those in charge of the fighters on the ground to take a second look at their strategies.  The burning and destruction of scarce infrastructure is clearly affecting innocent civilians and it is calling into question the objective of those who are committing this act.

The prime suspects in this are usually the Amba boys. It is believed that they want to wreak as much havoc as possible in order to bring the government to the negotiating table. But there are also some doubts as the government has been caught several times in the act of destruction in order to wreak havoc on innocent people.

Many people have been asking lots of questions. First of all, why would Amba boys commit such an act on a Sunday morning? Why would Real Amba Boys Attack travelers and make themselves hated as the Cameroon Army whose modus Operandi has always been to disrupt movement  in fake claims of checking and enforcing security?

However, while these acts must be strongly condemned, the condemnation should be put in perspective. These extreme measures by the fighters are a reflection of the people’s frustration with a regime that has for long despised its own people.

Ever since the crisis started, many eminent people across the world have called on the government to change its strategy but the president of the country, Paul Biya, and his collaborators still see military action as the only option and this is what is causing the escalation.

The devil seems to be at work in Cameroon. Power and money have caused the government to lose its decency. In normal environments, peace talks will be going on to avert the worst. In Cameroon, that is not happening. Even when the country’s economy is taking the heat, the Yaoundé regime still holds that it can only crush opposition by force.

Many state corporations are going under because of this conflict, but the regime is still not changing its position.

PAMOL, CDC and SONARA located in Southern Cameroons are all facing tough times and many employees of these corporations have lost their jobs as a result. But this is not cutting ice with the government.

When is the government going to figure out that dialogue can produce more results than military action? When will it know that innocent civilians are being killed for crimes they have not committed?

When will it understand that to live in peace with other people, it must not use brute force?  Why has the government taken a position that is not tenable? The more it wants to destroy the fighters, the more the fighters want to prove that they can stand the test.

These extreme positions are not helping anybody. A shift in thinking and mentality could bring about peace and unity instead of military action. Cameroon is on the brink. The devil is at work in Cameroon. Many lives have been ruined. Many young men and soldiers have been rushed to an early grave.

Many people have been displaced and the suffering in Southern Cameroons is gradually spreading to East Cameroons as the number of displaced people increases by leaps and bounds.

The world cannot continue to play spectator to a situation that is resulting in thousands of deaths. Another Rwanda is silently playing out in Cameroon and the AU is doing nothing to check this madness that is being encouraged by the government.

Cameroon needs help. The world has to come in to stop the blood flow. The country is heading to the bottom of the abyss and if something is not done, the entire sub-region will be destabilized.

By Kingsley Betek


SOBA UK Rejects the Lifetime bans of key SOBA UK Executive by Prof Ephraim Ngwafor and says he has no legitimacy

4, September 2018

SOBA UK Rejects the Lifetime bans of key SOBA UK Executive by Prof Ephraim Ngwafor and says he has no legitimacy 0

4th September 2018

Dear Sobans and members of SOBA UK,

We trust that you are keeping very well.

A few weeks ago, we received communication from SOBA National in Cameroon claiming acts of gross misconduct by members of our SOBA UK Executive and one of our patrons. Upon receipt of these allegations, we unearthed very serious inadequacies of the process and proceeded to direct our response to the competent authority as defined by the 1991 Constitution. In this response, we suggested a possible line of action to fairly resolve the matter using an Alternative Dispute Resolution with clear timelines.

Unfortunately, Prof Ephraim Ngwafor,Mr Ebot Mfoataw and their cohorts have exercised bad judgement and have proceeded to issue lifetime bans,and pronouncement of no possibility of readmission,to SOBA UK Executive without agreeing to the fair process of resolving the issue as communicated in our response. These individuals in SOBA National in Cameroon have acted as victims, judge, jury and executioner, and have continued to make a mockery of Sobans worldwide by asking those targeted to lodge an appeal to the same people who have passed these heinous judgements to suit their agenda. The concept of a General Assembly of members as the ultimate decision maker,the core tenet of decision-making enshrined in the 1991 SOBA Constitution, only exists in name in SOBA National in Cameroon. On the other hand, we in the UK remain resolute in our belief that good governance is dependent on this value and remains the cornerstone on which important decisions on SOBA UK-related matters are resolved, as documented in our 2013 SOBA UK Constitution.

We, the executive of SOBA UK would like to confirm that these lifetime bans of our members in the UK by elements from SOBA National in Cameroon have no relevance,and have been rejected in totality by the SOBA UK Executive.

We state the following reasons for the total rejections;

 

  • Those behind the lifetime ban, namely Mr Ebot Mfoataw, Prof Ephraim Ngwafor and four others have no legitimacy since 10th March 2018 when a Revival General Assembly held in Buea Cameroon and ended their mandate in SOBA National as executive after breaching article 23.2 of the 1991 Constitution.
  • The 2018 Constitution, which Mr EbotMfoataw and Prof EphaimNgwaforhave packaged in a booklet and quoted as the basis for issuing lifetime bans, is an illegal document that has not been ratified inprocess and content both by the Soban family in Cameroon and in the Diaspora. The 1991 SOBA Constitution, which is the bona fide reference document, sets out no basis or justification for such unscrupulous activities and actions, especially across jurisdictions.
  • The lifetime ban, the reasons given, the lack of supporting documentation and dubious process amount to nothing other than defamation and slander of the good name of the members of SOBA UK. The members concerned will personally seek redress for these publications intended solely to damage their persons and score cheap headlines.
  • Given that there are problems in SOBA UK and Prof Ngwafor has been siding with the Splinter group in the UK and has taken a series of dubious actions to support them, including donating money to the group, these latest actions add to the mounting evidence that Prof Ngwafor’s motivation in this whole debacle is political.Furthermore, we strongly believe that this new action is designed to bolster the Splinter group with a greater agenda to take control of the legitimate SOBA UK, its strong finances,intellectual and property, and achievements which have eluded Prof Ngwafor throughout his time in SOBA National.
  • The obsessive and unproductive meddling byProf Ngwafor,inCameroon, in the affairs ofSOBA UK is improper and unconstitutional.

We are asking all members of SOBA UK and the UK Cameroonian community to remain very confident that our SOBA UK programme for the rest of the year will continue as planned under the stewardship of President Akoh-Arrey and his Executive. Our SOBA UK General Assembly remains the ultimate decision-maker in SOBA UK matters. Our next SOBA UK General Assembly sits in ordinary session on 22nd September 2018 at St Georges Park, Hilton, where these matters shall be fully deliberated upon and clear directive will be given.

Please enjoy the rest of your week and we look forward to seeing you all soon at St Georges Park under our theme for this year – “Together we Succeed”.

Long live SOBA

Kind regards

Mr John Bawak

SG SOBA UK

Mr Ayuk Akoh-Arrey

President, SOBA UK

Mr Bime Lafon

Vice President, SOBA UK

 

 


Turkish president says Lira crash political plot against Ankara

13, August 2018

Turkish president says Lira crash political plot against Ankara 0

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the lira’s drop is a “political plot” against Ankara, and his country will begin to seek for new partners.

The lira’s crash was sparked by a disagreement with the United States over the detention of an American pastor in Turkey, which has even brought up questions over the future partnership between Washington and Ankara.

Turkey’s currency dropped some 16 percent to new record lows against the dollar on Friday.

“The aim of the operation is to make Turkey surrender in all areas, from finance to politics,” said Erdogan on Sunday.

“We are once again facing a political, underhand plot. With God’s permission we will overcome this,” he added.

Erdogan noted that his country would turn to other partners if this “economic war” goes on.

“Some close the doors and some others open new ones,” he added.

He further added that the only response to a country which chooses to sacrifices its strategic partnership and a half century alliance with a state with a population 81 million for the sake “terror groups” is “good-bye.”

“You dare to sacrifice 81-million Turkey for a priest who is linked to terror groups?,” he stressed.

Relations between the two NATO allies have taken a turn for the worse amid dispute over the detention in Turkey of US evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson on terrorism charges.

“They tell us to release the priest by Wednesday 6:00 pm, otherwise the sanctions will begin,” Erdogan added.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced to double steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkey, saying relations between Washington and Ankara “not good” as tensions mount between the two countries.

“I have just authorized a doubling of Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum with respect to Turkey as their currency, the Turkish Lira, slides rapidly downward against our very strong Dollar!” Trump said on Twitter.

“Aluminum will now be 20 percent and Steel 50 percent. Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!” he added.

The United States is the world’s biggest steel importer. Washington slapped tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum in March for imports from several countries, including Turkey.

Trump’s announcement came shortly after President Erdogan called on Turks to help defend the country against the US-launched economic war against his nation. Erdogan appealed to Turks to exchange dollars and gold for Turkish lira to support the plunging currency.

Ankara and Washington also disagree over their military interventions in the Syria war, Turkey’s plan to buy missile defense systems from Russia and the US conviction of a Turkish state bank executive on sanctions-busting charges in January.

On Saturday, Erdogan warned his country’s partnership with the United States might be in “jeopardy” as tensions intensify between the two NATO allies.

Source: Presstv


Trump and Putin meet at closely watched Helsinki summit

16, July 2018

Trump and Putin meet at closely watched Helsinki summit 0

US President Donald Trump is sitting down with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, in Helsinki, Finland on Monday for a meeting that comes amid heightened tensions with Europe and an ongoing inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

The US and Russian leaders opened the historic summit on Monday with Trump promising an “extraordinary relationship” and Putin saying it was high time they thrashed out disputes around the world.

Looking sombre, they exchanged opening remarks in front of reporters before their closed-door meeting. Trump underlined his sentiment that getting along with Russia would be “a good thing, not a bad thing”. Putin, for his part, said, “The time has come to talk in a substantive way about our relations and problem areas of the world.”

Hours before his first ever summit with Putin, Trump had said that “US foolishness” was responsible for Washington’s poor relationship with Moscow.

“Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse,” he tweeted from Helsinki on Monday morning, blaming “many years of US foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!”

Trump’s comments showed how much domestic political pressure he is under over the summit. Critics and his own advisers have urged him to use the meeting to pressure Putin over his country’s role in the 2016 election and other “malign” activities.

On Friday, the special counsel investigating Russian meddling indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers for hacking the Democratic National Committee and the campaign of Trump’s rival, Hillary Clinton.

Yet Trump has refused to criticise Putin, instead focusing his frustration over US-Russian ties on his own country. His stance has raised questions back at home, with Clinton tweeting: “Great World Cup. Question for President Trump as he meets Putin: Do you know which team you play for?”

Despite the criticism, Trump appeared upbeat during a breakfast with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö just hours before his meeting with Putin. Asked what he would say to Putin, Trump said: “We’ll do just fine, thank you.”

The two leaders were expected to first meet one-on-one with only their interpreters, followed by a working lunch accompanied by advisers, and a joint news conference.

A win for Russia

Neither side expects major breakthroughs from the talks and the outcome is uncertain given sharp differences between Washington and Moscow over everything from Syria to Ukraine.

For Putin, the fact that the summit is even happening despite Russia’s semi-pariah status among some Americans and US allies is a geopolitical win because, in Russian eyes, it shows that Washington recognises Moscow as a great power that cannot be isolated or ignored.

The Kremlin made clear beforehand it did not expect an easy meeting, taking Trump to task over his criticism of a planned Russian gas pipeline to Germany and suggesting it would be hard to find common ground on Syria because of differences over Iran.

Russia hoped however that the summit would be “the first step” in overcoming a crisis in relations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s RT TV station. “Presidents Trump and Putin respect each other and they get along well,” said Peskov. “There is no clear agenda. It will be determined by the heads of state themselves as they go along.”

Trump wants Russia to use its influence in Syria, where it is backing President Bashar al-Assad militarily, to push Iranian and Iranian-allied forces out.

“Of course Syria will be discussed by the two presidents,” said Peskov. “We all know what Washington thinks of Iran. But at the same time Iran is a good partner to us in terms of trade, economic cooperation and political dialogue. So this will not be an easy exchange of views.”

Trump has predicted he will be accused of being too soft on Putin no matter how the summit goes. “If I was given the great city of Moscow as retribution for all of the sins and evils committed by Russia…I would return to criticism that it wasn’t good enough – that I should have gotten Saint Petersburg in addition!” he tweeted on Sunday.

He has said he will raise the issue of Russian election meddling, but does not expect to get anywhere.

The Helsinki summit is the capstone to a nearly week-long trip for Trump, during which he has sown doubts over his commitment to the NATO military alliance, undermined the US’s so-called special relationship with Britain, and denigrated the European Union as a trade “foe”.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS and AFP)


New Age Africa Energy providing French Cameroon £ 1.5 Billion to fund Genocide in Southern Cameroons

11, June 2018

New Age Africa Energy providing French Cameroon £ 1.5 Billion to fund Genocide in Southern Cameroons 0

The Interim Government of Federal Republic of Ambazonia (Southern Cameroons) condemns in the strongest possible terms the signing of the corrupt genocidal Limbe Floating LNG deal with London based New Age African Global Energy and Och-Ziff in Ambazonia.

We call on the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the United Kingdom Authorities to investigate Steve Lowden, New Age Africa and Och-Ziff business deal in Cameroun, where the company have spent millions of dollars corrupting the government of La Republique du Cameroun to approve the Limbe Floating LNG project at the expense of more than 200,000 Internally Displaced People (IDP), 65,000 Refugees in neighboring Nigeria, over a 1000 dead and an unknown number of Southern Cameroonians sitting in uninhabitable prisons in French Cameroun.

We demand that Steve Lowden, New Age Africa and Och-Ziff disclose all financial payments made to Aldophe Moudiki, Paul Biya, Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement and Jean Jacque Koum.

These resources belong to the people of Southern Cameroons, therefore New Age Africa Global Energy, Och-Ziff and Steve Lowden who have had a long history of propping up dictatorships and paying bribes should be put on notice that Southern Cameroonians will not standby idly while they plunder their resources and fund a genocide against our people.

We hereby call on Steve Lowden, New Age Africa and Och-Ziff to repudiate, cancel the corrupt deal and immediately call on the Cameroun government to release our leaders, HE. Sissiku Julius Ayuktabe, Nfor Ngala Nfor, Dr. Fidelis Nde Che, Dr. Henry Kimeng, Barrister Shufai Beriyuy, Prof. Che Awasum, Dr.

Cornelius Kwanga, Mr. Wifred Tassang, Dr. Ogork Egbe, Barrister Eyambe Elias and many others currently languishing in jails.

This is the kind of corruption and theft that Southern Cameroonians despise and we will not tolerate any kind of deals done with the rogue regime in Yaounde at the expense of our people.

It will be wise and prudent for Bowleven, LUKOIL, and other financial backers to immediately disassociate themselves with Steve Lowden, New Age Africa, Och-Ziff and Paul Biya.

We call for a vigorous Cameroon Economic Divestment Campaign and we will continue to aggressively campaign against companies and individuals like Steve Lowden, New Age Africa and Och-Ziff.

It is time for Western governments to pass a Cameroon Divestment Act that will compel governments to cut investment ties with companies and individuals doing business with La Republique du Cameroon.

It should be noted that New Age Africa and Och-Ziff was formed in Jersey in 2007 by Steve Lowden. The company is backed by US Hedge-Fund Och-Ziff which had to pay more than $400 million( £295 million) in bribery settlements following an investigation by the US government after finding out that the company had paid more than $100 million (£74 million) in bribes to government officials in Libya, Zimbabwe, Chad, Niger, Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo to secure natural resources deals and investments.

The Interim Government is warning companies and individuals that they will be held accountable as accomplices for the burning down of our villages, the target killing of our people, the destruction of property, abduction and incarceration of our people by the genocidal crime syndicate regime in La Republique du Cameroun.

Done this 10th Day of June 2018

Tabenyang Etchu Secretary of State, Interim Government Federal Republic of Ambazonia


At least 46 refugees killed as boat sinks off Tunisia coast

3, June 2018

At least 46 refugees killed as boat sinks off Tunisia coast 0

At least 46 refugees have been killed and 67 have been rescued after their boat sank off the coast of Tunisia.

Tunisia’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday that the refugees were of Tunisian and other nationalities, adding that the rescue operation was still ongoing in the Mediterranean.

Some 180 refugees, including 80 from other African countries had been travelling on the packed boast when it sank, security sources said.

The deaths are the latest to come from a refugee crisis that has gripped countries on various sides of the Mediterranean.

Nine people including six children died on Sunday near Turkey’s southern province of Antalya after a speedboat carrying 15 refugees sank off the coast.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which is affiliated to the United Nations, estimates that 660 had died attempting to cross into Europe through the Mediterranean since the start of this year.

Tunisia has become a major embarkation point for refugees from Africa who seek to reach southern coasts of Italy.

Many have died over the past years while taking the risky journey from neighboring Libya to the Italian coast. However, the flow from Libya ebbed after the former government of Italy, backed by the European Union, reached an agreement with the militia and government of the North African country to contain the departures.

A new government in Italy is now trying to further reduce the number of arrivals. New interior minister Matteo Salvini, who leads Italy’s the anti-immigrant League party, has vowed to deport up to 100,000 refugees per year while doing his best to block the arrival of boats carrying refugees from Africa.

“I will work to ensure that all the international organizations commit to stop departures, landings and deaths,” Salvini said in a statement after he was sworn in as interior minister on Friday, adding, “The objective is to save lives. And this is done by preventing the departures of the boats of death that are a business for some and a disgrace for the rest of the world.”

 

Culled from Presstv

 


Southern Cameroons Crisis: British Foreign Secretary tells Philemon Yang peace is possible

20, April 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: British Foreign Secretary tells Philemon Yang peace is possible 0

British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, has again stressed the need for the Biya regime to hold talks with the leadership of the Southern Cameroons revolution. The UK’s chief diplomat observed that there was an urgent need for dialogue in solving the political crisis in Southern Cameroons. Boris Johnson made public the position of Her Majesty’s Government during a meeting with Prime Minister Philemon Yang on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London. The 85 year old President Biya was conspicuously absent.

Cameroon Concord News Group gathered that the London talks between the British Foreign Secretary and the Anglophone Prime Minister were frank, intensive and “productive”.  Johnson pointed out that it was in Yaounde’s best interest to pursue dialogue and respect human rights.

When the Southern Cameroons crisis started in October 2016, few people thought it would last for a week. Very few even thought it would have an impact on the government. The two English-speaking regions were considered insignificant, especially as they only constitute 20% of the country’s population.

Senior government officials such as Laurent Esso and Jacques Fame Ndongo felt it was not even necessary to pay attention to the English-speaking minority. To the government, it had everything under control and if the population insisted on carrying through with its demands, then the government would stop at nothing to crush the English-speaking minority.

Mr. Fame Ndongo, who is the country’s higher education minister, is alleged to have compared the two regions to “two cubes of sugar” which could be easily melted in an ocean; with the ocean being the 80% Francophone majority. Little did he know that those “cubes of sugar” had stood the test of time and after 56 years of marginalization, the people of the North West and South West regions had had enough and were prepared to make their grievances known to the international community.

The fighting is ongoing, and it is getting nastier by the day, as government soldiers erase whole villages from the country’s map, a tactic it used to intimidate French-speaking freedom fighters popularly known as “Marquisards” in the 60s. These acts of violence do not seem to be producing the desired impact. Far from dissuading the determined Southern Cameroonian fighters, they are instead breeding revenge which is feeding the circle of violence that the government has triggered in the country.

Today, Cameroon government officials are gradually coming to terms with the fact that the two “cubes of sugar” will not easily melt. Instead of intimidating the fighters, the violence has now become a reason why the people of Southern Cameroons have to fight to the finish. They know the government is not willing to solve the problem and yielding to government pressure will only imply that they will have to go back to the status quo ante where they were regarded as second-class citizens.

By Chi Prudence Asong in London


Oblivious of the ongoing ICC preliminary examination, Buhari’s agent admits abducting Ambazonian leaders; Endorses another genocide in the Gulf of Guinea

6, February 2018

Oblivious of the ongoing ICC preliminary examination, Buhari’s agent admits abducting Ambazonian leaders; Endorses another genocide in the Gulf of Guinea 0

The statement in the Vanguard captioned “Nigeria pledges support to Cameroon over secession threat” dated 6 February 2018 if true, is the first statement made on behalf of President Mohammadu Buhari and the Federal Government of Nigeria admitting responsibility for the abduction and rendition to French Cameroun of the President and members of the Interim Government of the Federal Repuiblic of Ambazonia since the 5th of January 2018. This statement has profound consequences for Nigeria, President Buhari and elements of his government complicit in these crimes.

In its historical perspective, more than fifty years, ago, Buhari was a participant in the genocide that claimed more than three million Biafran lives. His endorsement of the genocide and the ideological motivation for the genocide against Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia by French Cameroun through his National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguna may therefore not be surprising.

Since President Buhari came to power, he has selectively activated his genocidal instincts to fulfill his political, ethnic and pecuniary interests.  While in the opposition to the government of President Good Luck Jonathan, he opposed the prosecution of the war against Boko Haram claiming then that it targeted the Northern Youth based on their ethnic and religious identity. With support from the circumstantially politically unreliable Yoruba politicians to the West, gullible corrupt political merchants in the South/South and in the Middle Belt he rode on his political Islamic support base of which Boko Haram is its militant vanguards to power.

Once in power he adopted an ambivalent policy towards the war against Boko Haram with whom he has maintained a clandestine fig leave of support while prosecuting the war against them. On occasion, he negotiated and released some members of Boko Haram and subtly deployed others in the guise of Fulani Herdsmen to kill and maim in the Middle belt, the East, South/South, Middle East and the West with impunity.  He has opposed dialogue with the Biafrans who unlike Boko Haram with whom he has been dialoguing, have not declared war against the Federation.  He has subverted the amnesty deal that Good Luck Jonathan negotiated with the Niger Delta militants and turned a blind eye to the systematic massacres of armless civilians in Bakassi and other frontier communities by Cameroun Gendarmes. In context therefore, the statement endorsing the genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against Southern Cameroons by French Cameroons, does not come as a surprise.

The statement for the first time provides attempts to justify the unprecedented criminal act of abduction which is better associated with Boko Haram as intended to assist the government of French Cameroun to safeguard its territorial integrity.  The purpose for violating international law through an blatant act of international criminality to assist a genocidal reason committing international crimes which even France its colonial master has condemned places Nigeria as a conspirator in the crimes.  Prior to the admission, the Federal Government kept sealed lips and refused to acknowledge the abductions or admit orchestrating the crime.  With the admission of the crime and the endorsement and support of the genocide and international crimes against the Southern Cameroons/ Ambazonia, the Federal Government of Nigeria is the first government in the entire universe to admit its participation in the international violations and crimes against Ambazonia. Buhari has not demonstrated a Nigeria national interest need to justify commission of the crimes Nigeria has admitted to committing or to justify its support and complicity in the crimes perpetrated against Southern Cameroons. The Buhari administration has joined the crime cartel abducting and slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Southern Cameroons civilians for purely pecuniary interests. This is tantamount to sourcing for money through criminal means to finance his reelection efforts and that of his Vice President. The Boko Haram approach to accessing international crimes cartels like the government of French Cameroun to source and launder money to safeguard its threatened hold on power espouses the hypocrisy of his commitment to fight corruption in Nigeria.

With this admission, President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osibanjo and the National Security Adviser Babagama Monguna hence bear individual criminal responsibility for the crimes of abduction, money laundering and complicity in the international crimes perpetrated against the Southern Cameroons. By relying on Babagama Monguna, the foot soldier that he and his Vice President relied on to conduct the entire operation including the negotiation and concealment of the colossal amounts paid for the criminal operation, Mr Buhari intended to keep the operation and its proceeds within his inner circle.

The alleged statement of Babagama Monguna places President Buhari and some of his close associates at the centre of the planning and execution of the crime. The fact that Buhari delegated Babagana Monguno, the alleged mastermind of the operation to deliver this statement on his behalf and not a cabinet member or a plenipotentiary member of the diplomatic corps is significant in some ways. It raises critical questions about the state of cohesion within the government of Nigeria on the matter and the possible frictions between the co-conspiring members of the crime cartel involved in the criminal enterprise in both government of Nigeria and French Cameroun.

It appears embarrassing and even surprising for the President of Nigeria to be represented in a supposed bilateral security meeting supposedly held in Nigeria by a national security adviser and not a cabinet level representative. It is doubtful that statements made by the national adviser can have the force of a binding international commitment on behalf of the people of Nigeria.  In his capacity as a corrupt mastermind of the abduction, the national security adviser might have deliver a message on his on his own behalf and that of the President as the General Overseer of the criminal operation.  There would be no constitutional basis in a genuine democracy for such a delegation of authority to a security operative to make commitments of an international nature with profound international, legal and diplomatic consequences. Diplomatic practice requires that such commitments can only be made by mandate holders recognized as such in international law.

That this individual represented the Federation or was mandated to deliver these statements to supposed delegates and representatives of French Cameroun in a supposed security meeting held in Nigeria carries with it serious diplomatic ramifications. This appeared to have been an open manifestation of a chaotic management of a criminal deal which exploded in the market place of international and national scrutiny.  This appears to have foreshadowed the nervousness, confusion and disagreement within a government    totally embarrassed by the international outcry over the criminal violations of international law by Nigeria and the exposure of the underlying corruption surrounding the violations.

There are reasons why persons involved in this crime, no matter their status will be held responsible for their role in these international crimes. The international focus on Nigeria and French Cameroun by several international judicial accountability mechanisms will force the crime cartels present in the governments of both countries to account for their crimes. The moment is soon coming when they will know the clear limits to impunity, reckless corruption and abuse of political power.                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Cameroon Concord News has critically examined the impugned statement.  Apart from being a statement endorsing the genocide against Federation of Ambazonia and admitting that Nigerian security operatives on his orders committed the crime of  abduction,  it’s contains no comprehensive information  relating to the exact whereabouts of His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and members of the Interim Government of Ambazonia.  Cameroon Concord News News critically observes that the unspecified cooperation basis for which Nigeria committed this crime appears to be but a mere euphemism for the unprecedented corruption that informed the criminal conduct of President Buhari, his Vice President, his National Security Adviser and his close associates. The deployment of his security adviser and not the Vice President, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney-General of the Federal or a Cabinet level Minister, to make statements of a legal and diplomatic nature on behalf of the President to representatives of an alien sovereign evokes the possibility of serious disagreement within the Buhari government about the legality and secretive nature of the abductions and high level corruption involved in the operation.  The violations of national and international law with profound consequences may also have alarmed many members of government who might not have been aware of the criminal corrupt deal but are required by the beneficiaries to deal with the consequences.

Babagana Munguno’s statement is an admission on behalf of President Buhari that Nigeria abducted Southern Cameroons leaders who were legally in Nigeria under the protection of International law. Statements by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United States State Department alleging and condemning the violations of international law by Nigeria signifies that the consequences for this violation will follow. The statement admitting the abductions and the endorsement of international violations committed against the Southern Cameroons, the support to French Cameroun to realize it’s stated goals genocidal goals of preserving the unity of its territory through criminal means; genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes bring Nigeria and French Cameroun within the radar of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which fortunately has been conducting a preliminary examination in Nigeria since the 18 November 2010. The Babagana Monguno admission brings into focus following crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court where Nigeria is a state party:  Genocide (article 6), Crime Against Humanity Article 7 (e) Imprisonment or other deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law. 7(i) Enforced disappearance of persons, Article 7(k) Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to body or to mental and physical health. Article 8 (vii) Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement.

Although French Cameroun signed but did not ratify the Rome Statute, the officially announced participation of Nigeria in these crimes must be considered within the context of the ongoing preliminary examination in Nigeria targeting the Nigerian Military and Security Agencies which the security operatives who participated in these international violations form part.  Through its admitted criminal conduct, Nigeria may have provided the required jurisdictional basis for the ICC to examine the crimes committed by French Cameroon against Southern Cameroon/Ambazonia in which Nigeria is an admitted and willing participant.  In this regard therefore, members of the Nigeria government who participated in perpetration of these crimes and the violation of international law cannot and will not hide behind the shield of national security or sovereignty to conceal their participation is crimes that have shock the conscience of humanity.

If the criminals who have violated international law and perpetrated these crimes are not held to account for their crimes, then the protection afforded humanity by international law will be held in contempt and the abduction and trade in human beings to satisfy the corrupt pecuniary interests of corrupt power merchants will encourage impunity.  Nigeria must not be allowed to become a laboratory for whitewashing Boko Haram criminal tactics and deploying them to security operations in total disregard the international rule of law.

For these reasons, Cameroon Concord News Group strongly holds that the responsibility to produce and free the President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and members of his government lies with Nigeria. Whether they are in French Cameroun or still held in Nigeria as it may well be the case, they are held at the pleasure of the Federal Government of Nigeria.  Nigeria must be held accountable for whatever happens to them.  Cameroon Concord News Group strongly urges the ICC which has been conducting a preliminary examination in Nigeria since 2010 to exercise its jurisdiction on the crimes of the abduction of the Southern Cameroons leaders who were legally in Nigeria under the protection of International law. The crime in which they were abducted and disappeared falls within the jurisdiction of the ICC. Cameroon Concord News Group strongly urges international human rights organizations, Ambazonians the world over and Nigerian of good will to submit petitions to the ICC to extend its ongoing preliminary examination in Nigeria to cover this crime of abduction and complicity in the international crimes coming within the statute of the ICC committed against Southern Cameroons/ Ambazonia.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman and Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group


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