News

9, February 2018

White House warns of another US government shutdown as spending bill stalls in Senate ⁰

The White House has warned that the US government faces a second shutdown in three weeks as Congress encounters obstacles to pass a temporary spending bill before midnight.

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget “is currently preparing for a lapse in appropriations,” an OMB official said Thursday, calling on lawmakers to get the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk “without delay.”

With just hours to go before current federal funding expires, the effort stalled in the Senate when one lawmaker blocked a quick vote on the compromise bill in the upper chamber of Congress.

The legislation, which extends government funding for six weeks and raises the federal debt ceiling, would break the cycle of government funding crises.

Republicans and Democrats agreed Wednesday on a two-year deal to increase government spending. But the bill hit a stumbling block after Senator Rand Paul refused to allow the Senate to act expeditiously to pass the spending measure.

Moving legislation swiftly through the Senate requires consent by all 100 members, but Paul objected.

The legislation is expected to increase the bulging federal deficit which is estimated to be around $440 billion for fiscal year 2018.

“I can’t in all good honesty and all good faith just look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits,” Paul said.

If the Republican senator from Kentucky stands his ground, congressional rules dictate that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can declare a new session at midnight Friday, then hold a procedural vote on the spending bill one hour into the new day. A final vote would follow.

If passed, the bill would then head to the House of Representatives. If it passes, it would be sent to the White House for a signature by Trump, who supports the measure.

But the deal’s fate in the lower chamber is far from certain. Fiscal conservatives in the House may join with Paul in balking at adding billions of dollars to the national debt two months after passing a $1.5 trillion tax cut package.

The US government shut down for two days last month after a failure to pass legislation to fund government operations and agencies.

There have been four government shutdowns between 1990 and 2017. In 2013, government funding lapsed for 16 full days and more than 800,000 government workers were put on temporary leave.

Source: Presstv

9, February 2018

France to spend $33bn on upgrading nukes to meet NATO commitments ⁰

France is planning to spend $33 billion (€27bn) to upgrade its arsenal of nuclear weapons as part of a massive $370 billion (€300bn) military spending over the next few years to meet the NATO military alliance’s requirements, the French defense chief has announced.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, French Defense Minister Florence Parly said Paris wanted to increase its military budget so that it can “hold its own” as a key power in Europe.

“The government’s goal is twofold: reach the target of spending two percent of GDP on defense by 2025, while also ensuring we manage our public finances,” Parly said.

France spends $42 billion (€34bn) or 1.8 percent of its GDP for military purposes, slightly less than the two-percent threshold set by NATO.

Under the new plan, President Emmanuel Macron’s government increases overall spending by $2 billion (€1.7bn) a year starting from 2019 until 2022, when it will reach $53 billion (€44bn). Then the budget would be bumped up by $3.6 billion (€3bn) a year between 2023 and 2025.

By then, Paris is supposed to have completed the expensive revamp of its nuclear arsenal, with work on a third-generation nuclear submarine program and a new generation of airborne nuclear missiles already underway today.

“We are going to make up for past shortfalls and build a modern, sustainable, protective army” that would allow France “to hold its own,” said Parly.

French military forces are currently deployed to West Africa on a declared mission to fight militant groups.

The country is also a main contributor to a US-led coalition that has been targeting alleged terrorist positions in Iraq and Syria since 2015.

The years-long operations have put strain on France’s military forces and equipment.

With thousands of troops overseas, the new program allows the defense department to perform a host of upgrades on equipment, from bullet-proof vests to combat uniforms.

There will also be a 34-percent increase in spending on “modernizing weaponry,” which includes buying new Scorpion armored vehicles, four Barracuda attack submarines and three multi-mission frigates, as well as a new fleet of Griffon multi-role armored vehicles.

There are also plans to develop new spy satellites, light surveillance aircraft, new Rafale fighter jets and armed drones. Air tankers are also on the long list of upgrades.

The development is a major reversal in France’s military strategy over the past years and is expected to please US President Donald Trump, who has put NATO allies under pressure to increase their military budgets.

Source: Presstv

8, February 2018

Biya regime’s crackdown is increasing support for a growing number of armed groups bent on secession ⁰

Daniel was in his home in the village of Bole in Southwest Cameroon on Feb. 2 when he heard gunfire and a commotion. Moments later, his house was ablaze, flames licking the walls.

Despite the fire, Daniel dared not leave. Outside, dozens of Cameroonian soldiers charged with putting down a separatist insurgency had descended from trucks, opened fire on fleeing residents and set buildings alight, he said. Daniel’s brother Ekoda, who was outside the house, said he saw seven dead bodies.

Army spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck said claims that houses were burned and people shot in Bole last week were “totally false”, and he denied that soldiers were mistreating residents in other villages detailed in this story.

“We are sure that the soldiers are respecting human rights. If we don’t do that we are very foolish,” Badjeck told Reuters by telephone, adding that any misconduct by soldiers is dealt with strongly. “If you want success, you have to have the population on side.”

A government spokesman did not respond to requests for comment. The Bole raid, corroborated by other witnesses, echoes near identical operations by the army in villages across Southwest Cameroon.

The accounts shed new light on the fast deteriorating security situation in Anglophone Cameroon and on the tactics used by the military to quell a growing secessionist movement that has killed 22 soldiers and policemen in a campaign to split Cameroon’s English-speaking minority from Yaounde.

The fighting has become a threat to President Paul Biya’s longstanding rule and to stability in the oil- and cocoa-producing Central African country where presidential elections are scheduled for October.

There are about five million Anglophones in Cameroon, a nation of 24 million. Most of Cameroon’s oil is found off the coast of the Anglophone region, according to the International Crisis Group.

Interviews with a dozen residents and separatist leaders in the English-speaking Southwest and Northwest regions reveal another worrying trend for Biya: the crackdown is increasing support for a growing number of armed groups bent on secession.

“They are fighting against us because they don’t want us to separate from them, but we have already made up our minds,” said Daniel, who spoke from his bed in a nearby hospital, medical gauze covering his left arm, his face charred. Daniel escaped the burning house when the soldiers left, but not before suffering severe burns.

Daniel, like most residents quoted in this story, asked that his full name not be used for fear of reprisals.

ATTACKING WHOLESALE

There have been secessionists ever since Anglophone Cameroon gained independence from Britain in 1961 and voted to join in a federation with neighboring Francophone Cameroon, which had won independence from France a year earlier.

French-speaking politicians held sway in government and the promise of equality for Anglophones faded. They were forced to drive on the right hand side of the road, adopt the metric system and take on the CFA franc currency.

In 1972 President Ahmadou Ahidjo declared an end to federalism, erasing regional autonomy completely. His successor, Paul Biya, centralized things further when he came to power in 1982. He removed the second star from the national flag which represented the Anglophone regions.

The separatist movement remained on the political fringe for decades until late 2016, when English-speaking lawyers and teachers protested peacefully against having to work in French.

The government cracked down hard and civilians were killed in clashes with police. The crowds grew in response, and so did the violence. In October 2017, more than 20 were killed during marches, according to Amnesty international. The military fired live rounds on protesters from helicopter gunships.

By mid-2017, many who had previously wanted just a return to federalism were calling for secession. At marches, protesters waved the blue and white flag of Ambazonia – the separatists’ proposed new state. An armed group called the Ambazonian Defence Force began attacking government soldiers in Anglophone regions.

“In 2016, people were calling for non-violence, and it was the same for most of 2017. But in 2018, people no longer see that rhetoric as holding water. They have to defend themselves,” said Tapang Ivo Tanku, an Anglophone activist based in the United States.

The formal secessionist leadership, known as the Government of Ambazonia, has distanced itself from attacks on soldiers. Its leader, Ayuk Tabe, was arrested last month in Nigeria and was deported to Yaounde. It was a symbolic blow to the movement, and Nigeria’s cooperation with Younde worries some separatists.

But even supporters say the Ambazonian government risks irrelevance as the separatist movement takes on a life of its own.

The ADF has been joined by newer armed groups made up mostly of young men. The Vipers has claimed responsibility for burning government buildings. The Manyu Tigers says its ranks are growing and it has carried out attacks on military checkpoints.

“There are hundreds of us, but we are aiming for 2,000-3,000. We want to start attacking wholesale,” said the group’s financial director, Ambe Simon, in a telephone interview. “We are receiving money from all over the world. We have $50,000 at the moment. We are getting weapons from the black market.”

“IN A WAR”

Faced with this threat, the Cameroonian military in December fanned out into the villages among the cocoa farms and forests near the Nigerian border that have become the separatists’ stronghold.

More than 40,000 have since fled to Nigeria, according to the United Nations, and most villages are deserted. Communications are slow in the rural areas and the internet is frequently shut off, but interviews with residents reveal what they were fleeing from.

Residents of Kembong in southwest Cameroon call Dec. 18 “the day of misfortune”, when troops in search of rebels came to the town. An 81-year-old man, James Oben Ndi, had to flee after his house was burned down.

“All my effects were in that house. There was my daughter’s sewing machine, her clothes. Our whole life was in that house,” he told Reuters during an interview in a church in a nearby town where he has sought shelter.

On Jan. 14, soldiers entered the village of KwaKwa, a few kilometers from Bole, looking for information about a soldier killed there. Villagers fled to nearby cocoa farms as the soldiers opened fire.

A resident named Alex returned under cover of darkness the following evening to assess the damage: most of KwaKwa’s wooden houses were burned to ash and dead bodies lay in the street.

He helped bury more than ten bodies behind a burned-out house. His account was corroborated by two other residents.

“Everybody was running in all directions,” Alex said in a telephone interview. “Things are not going well. We are in a war.”

Source: Reuters

8, February 2018

Fake Biya signature is gradually confirming the population’s suspicion ⁰

There have been speculations concerning the whereabouts of Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, who has been missing in action for some time now. But yesterday’s establishment of the constitutional council and the appointment of its members is causing more controversy. Yesterday’s presidential decrees established a constitutional council provided for in the 1996 constitution and appointed members of the said council. 77-year-old Clement Atangana, a legal expert of Beti extraction, who has been on retirement for more than ten years, was appointed as head of the constitutional council, while other very old faces were appointed as members of the same council in the same decree. Members of the council are members of the ruling CPDM and people who are personally loyal to the country’s president and his collaborators.

The appointment of these old and retired Cameroonians underscores the fact that Mr. Biya is not yet ready to give Cameroonian youths a place in today’s Cameroon. Besides marginalizing youths, Mr. Biya is still pursuing his policy of Anglophone marginalization by appointing only Francophones to head major government institutions. It should be underscored at this point that all heads of important structures in Cameroon are Francophones despite the ongoing Anglophone crisis which was triggered by the government’s marginalization of the country’s English-speaking minority.

But this is not what is concerning Southern Cameroonians in particular. Southern Cameroonians are still fighting for their secession and they are hell-bent on quitting a marriage that has brought them more pain than gain. There has been serious fighting in many towns in the Southwest region of the country, with many young men being killed in cold blood by army soldiers. Our sources say some of the young men killed had nothing to do with the rebellion that is unfolding in the English-speaking regions of the country.

It should be recalled that some towns such as Kwakwa in the Southwest region have been erased from the country’s map as army soldiers have burnt all the houses and sent everybody into exile. Currently, Mbonge in the same region is being attacked by army soldiers who are killing and maiming any young men they find in the town.

It is worth pointing out that the greatest concern to many Cameroonians is the whereabouts of their president who has not been seen in public for many weeks. The signatures on the two presidential decrees released yesterday are different and this is causing many Cameroonians to argue that those signatures were forged to give the impression that Mr. Biya who is suspected of either being dead is alive.

Over the last week, there have been rumors that Mr. Biya who is suffering from cancer and a failing heart is gradually heading to his grave. Some sources had even indicated that he had died and that there was commotion among his supporters who are all scared of losing their positions and influence.

A Cameroon Intelligence Report’s source at the Unity Palace, which elected unanimity, had informed our cream of intelligence officers in Yaoundé that everything pointed to the demise of the 85-year-old dictator who has ruled the Central African country for 35 years with an iron fist.

The source added that given the way in which government officials had been visiting the Unity Palace over the last week, it was clear that Mr.Biya was no more. The atmosphere at the presidential palace was tense and government officials had been holding meetings to come up with a common response so as to keep the population in the dark.

Our source added that members of the Cameroon strong man’s entourage were working hard to keep the information from the public place in the pious belief that they could change things to suit their intention.

He stressed that the Secretary General at the presidency had been holding a series of meetings with some of his collaborators who were advising him to issue decrees that would usher in constitutional changes on Mr. Biya’s behalf and the appointment of Clement Atangana is one of the changes the Beti Mafia was advocating.

The calling of senatorial elections next month, our soured added, was one of the moves designed by the Beti Mafia to kick out the current senate president, Marcel Nyat Njifenji, so that it could retain power even after Mr. Biya was dead and gone.

Under the country’s current constitution, the constitutional successor is the president of the senate, Marcel Nyat Njifenji, himself 83 years old and a collapsing figure who has been involved in the corruption and mismanagement that have become the country’s hallmark. Many Cameroonians hold that if the country has to change significantly, figures like the senate president and national assembly speaker have to disappear from the political scene.

By Kingsley Betek with files from Rita Akana in Yaounde

8, February 2018

UN says over 300 child soldiers have been freed in South Sudan ⁰

The United Nations says over 300 child soldiers have been released by armed groups in war-ravaged South Sudan under a scheme to help reintegrate them into society.

According to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), at least 311 children, 87 of them girls, were released by armed groups on Wednesday in Yambio, which is located in the south of the country.

David Shearer, the UN secretary general’s special representative and head of UNMISS, said in a statement that the children would soon begin reintegrating into their communities and learning new skills to support themselves. “This is the first time so many young women have been involved in a release like this in South Sudan,” the statement read.

“They will have endured suffering, including sexual abuse. It is vital that they receive the support they need to rejoin their communities and that they are welcomed home by family and friends without any sense of stigma.”

“Children should not be carrying guns and killing each other. They should be playing, learning, having fun with friends, protected and cherished by the adults around them,” Shearer said.

The integration program in Yambio is aimed at helping 700 child soldiers return to normal life. Of these, 563 are part of President Salva Kiir’s force and 137 are with rebels.

The UN peacekeeping force, acting in unison with the UN children’s agency UNICEF, is negotiating the release of child soldiers in other regions of the country.

“This is a crucial step in achieving our ultimate goal of having all of the thousands of children still in the ranks of armed groups reunited with their families,” said Mahimbo Mdoe, UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan. “It is the largest release of children in nearly three years and it is vital that negotiations continue so there are many more days like this.”

Women from more than 40 South Sudanese women’s organizations carry placards during a march through the city to express frustration and suffering that women and children face in Juba, South Sudan, December 9, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013, just two years after the country became independent, when disagreements between President Kiir and then Vice President Riek Machar turned into an armed conflict between their loyalists. While fighting generally subsided early last year, clashes once again intensified in July 2016.

Tens of thousands of people have died and more than four million people have been driven from their homes, while millions of others are suffering from hunger in a humanitarian crisis expected to worsen as the lean season sets in.

The UN and international rights groups have on numerous occasions accused both Machar’s loyalists and government troops of committing atrocities during their military operations.

Source: Presstv

8, February 2018

Ambazonia Crisis: The UN Situation Report ⁰

Situational Context

Tensions continue to heighten in southern Cameroon’s English speaking regions following the recent deportation of 47 asylum seekers including leaders of the pro-independence movement by Nigeria. According to the new arrivals, the Government in Yaoundé has also reinforced its military presence with deployment of troops, imposition of curfew and restrictions on travel by Anglophone Cameroonians.

These developments continue to trigger population movements toward Nigeria in search of safety and international protection. Government security forces have been repeatedly accused of killing civilians while the secessionists are also accused of complicity in the deaths of more than 10 security personnel since the unilateral declaration of independence on October 1, 2017.

The interim leadership of the pro-independence group has asked the government of President Paul Biya to allow international human rights organisations access to their leaders and members of their community who were deported to Cameroon by Nigeria to prove that they are still alive. The government said the detainees were currently undergoing interrogation and their lawyers would have access to them after the process.

New Arrivals

More Cameroonians are arriving at Danare in Boki, Cross River State and Gembu, Taraba State. However, some of the new arrivals are reluctant to be interviewed and registered on grounds that they fear being deported to Cameroon by Nigeria. Other asylum seekers already registered are requesting UNHCR to relocate them to a third country for fear of being returned to Cameroon against their will.

The latest batch of arrivals is mainly from Cameroon’s Kwa-Kwa Mbonge Sub Division in the South-Western Region. Residents fled their homes following clashes between security forces and separatists in the area and accused the military of excesses including arson attacks on their homes.

Source: UN

8, February 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Nigerian Senate Summons Defence Minister ⁰

The Minister of Defence, Brigadier–General Mansur Dan–Ali (rtd) has been summoned by the Senate to explain why and how Cameroonian soldiers were able to invade Nigerian territories, arrest and cart away some Nigerians.

In issuing the summons, the upper legislative chamber also urged the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema to “urgently liaise with his Cameroonian counterpart to secure the release of innocent Nigerians arrested by the Cameroon soldiers.

The Parliament also called for increased military presence in the Nigeria-Cameroon border, asking for intensified patrol within the area to prevent further acts of trespass by the Cameroon soldiers into Nigeria.

The resolutions of the Senate followed the debate of a motion titled: “Influx of refugees from the Republic of Cameroon to some border communities in Cross River State and its attendant security fallout” sponsored by Senator John Owan Enoh (APC, Cross River Central) and co-sponsored by Senators Rose Oko (PDP, Cross River North) and Gershom Bassey (PDP, Cross River South), respectively.

Other resolutions by the Senate include calling on Nigeria and Cameroon to strengthen the capacity of Nigeria-Cameroon trans-border security committee aimed at addressing emerging trans-border security issues confronting the two countries and the need for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR to intensify ongoing efforts aimed at protecting the Cameroonian refugees and assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement.

Senator Enoh, while leading debate on the motion, alleged that over 80 Cameroonian soldiers with various weapons crossed the international border of the Danare-Daddi/Danre-Bodom axis and abducted five natives.

He lamented: “This is a calculated assault/offence from the Cameroonian military on Nigeria and on outright defiance of Nigeria territorial sovereignty, not minding the consequences of crossing the international boundary to carry out intimidations and harassment on the already alarmed citizens of Danare, with warnings of further assault.”

The Lawmaker also expressed worry that “the current situation being faced by both the refugees and host border communities if not tackled urgently may result in both an outbreak of epidemic and a serious humanitarian crisis and further escalate the already troubling security situation along these borders.”

He noted: “The current agitation for the independence of Southern Cameroon has caused influx of refugees to some border communities in Cross River State and over six thousand of the refugees are currently squatting at Obanliku, Boki, Etung and Ikom local government areas of the state.”

Senator Enoh informed that the UNHCR had on December 17, 2017 biometrically registered 10, 000 arrivals in remote areas of Nigeria’s Cross River State and indicated that thousands more are awaiting registration.

He also expressed concern that “most of the refugees are ill and lack basic needs while some are expectant mothers without medical care.”

In his contribution, Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) noted that invasion by Cameroonian gendarmes to Nigeria was caused by the tension, violence and conflict in the Southern Cameroon.

He, however, stressed the need for the federal government to act fast with a view to protecting the lives and property of Nigerians within the border towns, saying: “Nigeria cannot pretend that there is no problem within our borders.”

Senator Sani, who expressed surprise at the audacity of the Cameroonian soldiers in trespassing to the Nigerian territory, called on the African Union, Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS and other relevant continental bodies to wade into the crisis in Southern Cameroon before it gets worsened.

Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North) in his contribution, said: “Though invasion by the foreigners was bad, he however, cautioned that the National Assembly cannot intervene on the matter “because Cameroon is a sovereign nation”.

Senator Sam Egwu (PDP Ebonyi North) said Nigerian territorial integrity has been violated by the action of gendarmes, and therefore urged the senate to summon the Minister of Defence to interrogation about the activities of the gendarmes in Nigeria.

When the motion was put to voice vote, it was unanimously adopted.

Source: The Independent

7, February 2018

Ambazonia Crisis: Hundreds Flee Bamenda County to Mbouda Amid Violence ⁰

Hundreds of people are fleeing Cameroon’s English-speaking towns following clashes between the military and gunmen believed to be armed separatists.
A dozen vehicles transporting at least 220 people from Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest region arrived in the French-speaking town of Mbouda Tuesday morning.

Among them is Donatien Fotso, a 55-year-old businessman. He says he, his wife and four children fled the town of Bamenda, after three consecutive days of heavy gunfire between the military and armed separatists.

He says Cameroon military has been invading their neighborhoods, shooting indiscriminately and arresting and torturing citizens. He says the torture and the killing inflicted on them has made the people so frightened that when they see a military vehicle, they start escaping.

Christopher Mbaingong, a 27-year-old farmer, says he left his village on the outskirts of Njinikom before the deadline because he had anticipated there would be bloody conflicts triggered by the heavy deployment of Cameroon’s military to English speaking towns and villages.

“I was afraid. I did not know what was actually the problem since we have a military that can not communicate,” he said. “The next day they should have told us what was happening, the gunshots was this or was that. So even today, I am afraid. I do not know what is going wrong.”

The tensions began mounting when Cameroon announced that separatist leader Ayuk Tabe Julius and 36 of his supporters had been arrested in Nigeria and transferred to Cameroon. They have not been seen in public since then, fueling speculation that they may have been killed.

Cameroon government spokesperson Issa Tchiroma said in a statement that all 37 are still alive, but the announcement did not calm their angry supporters.

Cameroon says seven villages have been burned and at least 20 people, including soldiers and separatists have been killed in the ongoing violence.

The unrest in Cameroon began in November 2016, when English-speaking teachers and lawyers in the Northwest and Southwest regions, frustrated with having to work in French, took to the streets calling for reforms and greater autonomy.

The situation degenerated with separatist calls for independence and the rise of an armed separatist movement, prompting a crackdown of the military.

Source: VOA

7, February 2018

Ambazoniagate: African Bar Association says there are speculations that the abductees are still being held by the Nigerian government at the behest of the Biya dictatorship ⁰

The African Bar Association (AFBA) has accused Nigeria of detaining some Cameroonian refugees without trial. The association stated this in its resolution in Calabar.

It said: “The abduction and continued illegal detention of Mr. Julius Ayuk Tabe and other Cameroonian refugees by the Nigerian security agents and their counterparts in Cameroon was wrong.”

“More worrisome is that some of the abductees are practicing lawyers and members of the AFBA.

The statement added: “Despite our demands for explanation and the immediate release of these individuals, the circumstances surrounding their arrest and their whereabouts remains unknown. This has led to several speculations.

“We have received reports that these persons have either been transferred or extradited to Cameroon or secretly executed.

“The reports added that some are still languishing in the custody of the government of Cameroon awaiting trial in a military court.

“There are also speculations that the abductees are still being held by the Nigerian government at the behest of the Cameroon dictatorship.”

The association stressed that the abduction of these individuals and their detention in an undisclosed location is a “grave and violent violations of international laws, for which there are consequences for those responsible.”

The statement noted that the detention without charges or due process of law is a breach of the African Charter on Human Peoples Rights, the Charter of the United Nations and the constitutions of Nigeria and Cameroon.

Source: The Guardian

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