News

2, February 2017

Gunmen kill five on Cameroon-Nigeria border ⁰

Unidentified gunmen have killed five people, including three nationals from Nigeria and one from Cameroon, after raiding a United Nations (UN) team on the border between the two countries, the UN has announced. The deadly raid occurred in the Hosere Jongbi area near Kontcha in northern Cameroon on Tuesday, according to a Wednesday evening statement by the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS).

“An unknown armed group attacked the UN team and killed five persons and injured several others,” read the statement, which also identified the victims as “one UN independent contractor, three Nigerian nationals and one Cameroonian national.” The UN’s special representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, censured the armed assault.

The statement, which did not mention the nationality of the UN contractor killed in the attack, further explained that the team was working to demarcate the nearly 2,000-kilometer land border dividing Nigeria and Cameroon. The area has reportedly been a source of tension between the two countries in the past. The Nigeria-based Takfiri terrorist group of Boko Haram, whose terror campaign has ruined wide areas of northeast Nigeria since 2009, also remains active in the far-north region of Cameroon.

Presstv

2, February 2017

Goods worth millions of FCFA destroyed in Buea shopping mall fire ⁰

Inhabitants of Buea Sub Division in the South West Region are still wondering what could have caused the fire outbreak Monday night which ravaged some shops in a mall at Mile 17. Some pro government reports have suggested that the owners were being punished for operating during Ghost Town. Cameroun Info.Net reported that the content of over half a dozen of Council shops at Mile 17,the main entrance into the town of Buea went into flames Monday night January 30,2017 and police are yet to establish the cause of the fire.

While the people of Buea say it must have been carried out by some disgruntled Cameroonians for the non respect of the civil disobedience campaign organized by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, others say it may have been a diabolic harsh ploy by Council authorities to have reasons for sealing shops and victimized opponents of the regime.

Most of the shops destroyed by fire were trading on Monday when others remained closed. According to shop owners they were afraid of threats from Mayor Patrick Ekema Esunge who had been parading in town sealing shops that were respecting the Ghost Town Operation. Meanwhile one of the taxis bought by the Mayor to counter the Ghost Town has been set ablaze by an unknown man. The passenger alighted from the taxi and set the back sit on fire before running away.

Cameroun Info.net

2, February 2017

Cameroun releases BBC reporter ¹

BBC news reporter, Randy Joe Sa’a was a target at the military tribunal in Yaoundé on February the 1st 2017. The BBC correspondent and a cream of journalists were interviewing lawyers outside the military tribunal building following the postponement of the trial of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium when troops loyal to the regime identified the BBC microphone and ordered Randy to leave saying that only the state radio and television had authorization to cover the proceedings.

Randy Joe was arrested on the spot. Our informant hinted that Barristers Ben Muna, Tchoungang, Eta Besong jointly called for his release. Information filtered that his equipment were confiscated by the security agents. At the time of filing this report Randy had been released on bail.

By Rita Akana

1, February 2017

Anglophone Crisis: Barrister Nico Halle will not seek another mandate as head of the Bar Association of Cameroon ¹

There is too much uncertainty about the future of the Bar Association of Cameroon caused by the current Southern Cameroons strike action. We gathered that among the difficult situations facing the Cameroon Bar is the renewal of the mandate of the management team that ended on January 31st, 2017.

Barrister Ntumfor Nico Halle was elected as President of the General Assembly of the Bar Association of Cameroon on the 31^st of January 2015 and Barrister Patrick Kleiss Kouanou held the position of Vice President. Cameroon Concord News has been reliably informed that no election is being considered even though the mandate of the management team has come to an end. The Southern Cameroons crisis has reportedly erected a stone wall against the convening of a bar council general assembly.

The Ntumfor Nico Halle has been quoted as saying that “it is impossible to convene a General Assembly of the Order. We must wait for the situation to calm down to organize the work. The Bar of Cameroon is united. You cannot sit down while the other parties have problems. The courts do not operate in these two regions. So it’s impossible to do anything for the Order.”

Asked if the crisis continues beyond February, the much respected Ntumfor Nico Halle pointed out that he will have to evoke “a case of force majeure, and the lawyers will have to decide on the way forward.” A journalist with a sister publication, Cameroon Intelligence Report hinted at the time of filing this report that Barrister Halle Nico will not seek a second term as president of the general assembly.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

1, February 2017

Cracks in the Biya regime as Southern Cameroons protest continues ²

Growing frustration accentuated by internal rivalry and personality conflicts has left Biya and his cabinet in shambles following the successful on-going civil disobedience campaign in British Southern Cameroons. With age telling on the chief executive and his health now being discussed by hard-liners of the regime, the shutting down of internet services and the arrest of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium provoked a backlash and has divided even members of the political bureau of the ruling CPDM party.

Some supporters of the One and Indivisible Cameroun philosophy were heard murmuring privately that the decision to disconnect internet services and the arrest of Anglophone senior judges was a deliberate attempt by some Beti Ewondo political elites to rob the regime of knowledgeable and legitimate Anglophone support for President Biya. Conversely, politicians from the Northern regions have been having a field day secretly celebrating the end of the Biya hegemony.

The confusion within the Biya governing council it should be recalled was provoked by the arrogance displayed by Ministers Jacques Fame Ndongo, Laurent Esso and a certain Paul Ghogomu Minglo of the Ad Hoc Committee. Confusing signals emerged when the 83 year old Biya ostensibly with the backing of some moderates scurried Garga Haman Adji to Bamenda and claimed he (Garga) was the legitimate emissary from Etoudi.

Cameroon Intelligence Report sources in the nation’s capital hinted that a majority of CPDM bigwigs are blaming the current Southern Cameroon situation on the secret Head of State now running the country-Minister Martin Belinga Eboutou. Tension is mounting in Yaoundé as more Southern Cameroonians are detained and some from the North West region reportedly being killed and buried in mass graves in Soa.

Ghost town operations are continuing and schools remained closed in West Cameroon. Francophone troops have continued to arrest, detain and torture Southern Cameroonians in Bamenda, Buea and Ekondo Titi. Southern Cameroonians arrested in Kumba, Nguti, Muyuka, Limbe, Tiko and Buea were being locked up in prison cells in Douala. They were rounded up by soldiers from La Republique in various localities, some before the civil disobedience campaign even started.

In the wake of massive demonstrations in various capital cities in the West, and more international condemnation of the excessive use of force on Anglophone Cameroonians, the trial of the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has been postponed. Many Southern Cameroonians have been arrested in Yaoundé, while more were picked up in other towns in the Center and South regions.

We got intelligence that many of the Southern Cameroons detainees including Lord Justice Ayah Paul Abine of the Supreme Court of Cameroun were in bad health and attempts to communicate with family members have been strictly prohibited. Government sources are now reporting that Southern Cameroonians have refused to be cowed and preferred to be killed rather than denounced the struggle. Barrister Agbor Nkongho Felix, the Chairman of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium was cited by a police source to be a lion-hearted man who spared no opportunity during interrogation to hit hard on the “thievery of the Francophone political elites.”

The interim leaders of the Consortium indicated recently that the international community has been informed about the brutalization but no official statement has been made by the British parliament and the United Nation Security Council.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with intelligence cables from Yaounde, Bamenda,Douala and Buea

1, February 2017

Two bomb attacks hit Nigeria ⁰

Two bomb attacks have hit separate locations in northern Nigeria in what officials believe were attempts by Boko Haram terrorist group to make up for its recent losses in the face of the Nigerian army. A civilian vigilante in Banki, near the Cameroon border in the northeastern state of Borno, said on Tuesday that an attack earlier in the day nearly rattled a camp of people displaced by Boko Haram violence.

Musa Ahmad, who works with the military against Boko Haram, said the attack was carried out by a 10-year-old girl about noon local time, adding that the minor was killed after she detonated her explosives near the camp for internally-displaced people.”She was asked to stop by soldiers. But she ignored them. They threatened to shoot her if she didn’t stop. She obeyed and she was asked to lift up her hijab,” said Ahmad, adding, “She did and explosives were found to be strapped on her. Suddenly she pulled on the trigger and exploded.”

The vigilante said the death of the girl was the sole casualty of the incident, adding that the attack bore the hallmarks of similar attacks by Boko Haram as the Takfiri group has repeatedly used minors and women to carry out assaults against civilians and security forces.

Ahmad said Boko Haram has been desperately seeking to make up for the losses it has suffered at the hands of the Nigerian army in the recent time. Earlier on Tuesday, at least two people, including the attacker, were killed in another act of terror, where the assailant targeted people performing morning prayers inside a mosque in Dalori, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

Residents and authorities said the blast happened at about 5:30 a.m. and the attacker was trying to enter the mosque but a guard stopped him. “One of the worshippers, who was apparently on guard, grabbed him and the explosives went off, killing both of them. Worshippers were saved,” said a resident.

Nigeria has been at war with Boko Haram since the group started an insurgency in Borno state about eight years ago. Almost 15,000 people have been killed while the violence has displaced more than two million. Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to Daesh, another Takfiri terrorist group, which has been wreaking havoc in the Middle East and North Africa over the past few years.

Presstv

31, January 2017

Biya appoints Brigadier General Valere Nka as new head of the 4th Inter-Armed Military Legion ⁰

President Biya has reportedly appointed Brigadier General Valere Nka as head of the 4th Inter-Armed Military Region (RMIA). The decision was made public on Monday the 30^th of January 2017 in Yaounde, the nation’s capital.

Cameroon Concord News understands the decree gave the job to General Valère Nka par interim replacing General Jacob Kodji, who died on Sunday the 22nd of January in an helicopter crash in Madide, a village located about 9 km from Bogo, in the department of the Diamaré, Far North region.

Brigadier General NKA Valère, a native of Sa’a, in the Central Region, has more than thirty years of senior office in the Cameroonian army. General Nka has experience in the fight against terrorism, having served as second in command with the Joint Multinational Force (FMM) against the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

The former Defense Attaché to the High Commission of Cameroon in Nigeria was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General at the same time as Jacob Kodji, Frédéric Ndjonkep Meyomhy, Bouba Dobekreo, and Simon Ezo’o Mvondo.

By Rita Akana

31, January 2017

Consortium calls on Southern Cameroonians not to listen to Senator Musonge ²

The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has appealed to West Cameroonians not to pay attention to Senator and former Prime Minister Peter Manfany Musonge. Consortium sources say the former Head of Government is under duress from the Biya Francophone regime. Musonge who is at the mercy of President Biya over the hundreds of millions he has in a Swiss bank account has summoned a meeting of the so-called South West political elites to counter the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium. Some of Musonge’s wealth was allegedly gained from bribes and the Mutengene timber accident.

The former Prime Minister and current Senator of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate attempted to sue the paper Nouvelle Expression following a publication sponsored by Biya’s agents that depicted him arriving in Switzerland with money pouring out of his brief case. Musonge’s reign as Prime Minister and Head of Government was accused of civil rights crackdowns, torture, and executions. A source deep within the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium was quoted as saying that Southern Cameroons will not asked Switzerland to recover the Musonge funds.

It is still unclear why the Senator decided to organized the meeting at this crucial moment in Southern Cameroons history. However, the interim leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium have sounded a note of caution to all Southern Cameroonians of the Buea Province to remain vigilant and not to listen to the generation that has caused the deaths of many West Cameroonians.

We got intelligence that a majority of Southern Cameroons CPDM political elites are under Secret Service surveillance and have been told to speak against federalism and secession or lose their ill gotten wealth. Swiss bank accounts are infamous for their privacy, security, and hiding wealth.

Swiss law made it a criminal offense to reveal a client’s identity in 1934, creating a huge tax haven. A leak from the global bank HSBC revealed Swiss accounts involved in blood diamond trading, cocaine smuggling and bribery. Some 41 Swiss banks signed amnesty agreements with the US Justice Department requiring them to disclose ways they helped customers hide assets in 2013.

Culled from Cameroon Intelligence Report

30, January 2017

Trump travel ban: Arab League Concerned ⁰

The Arab League has expressed “deep concern” over an “unjustified” decision by US President Donald Trump to restrict entry into the United States from several Muslim-majority countries. In a statement released on Sunday, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said new regulations “are unjustified restrictions on the entry of citizens of several Arab nations to the US, in addition to the consequences of suspending the acceptance of Syrian refugees.”

Aboul Gheit, who heads the 22-member regional organization of Arab countries, hoped that the Trump administration would “review its position because of the negative consequences this could lead to in terms of preserving family unity and the continuation of dialogue between Arab societies and American society.” Such dialogue includes “the fields of education and scientific research,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, Aboul Gheit’s spokesman Mahmoud Afifi has also voiced concern about “indications of a direction towards using an official religious standard to identify whether or not to accept refugees.” In a move that sparked widespread censure, the new US president signed a sweeping executive order on Friday to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough controls on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Sources within the Trump administration say it is unclear how many more countries will be added to the list as it looks to expand the ban beyond the initial seven countries. Washington will be “very aggressive” as it weighs how many more countries to add to the list, the sources said.

Presstv

30, January 2017

Biya offers 40 million FCFA to man who foiled the April 6th Coup in 1984 ¹

The 83 year-old Cameroonian dictator has finally compensated the radio technician who helped in foiling the April 6^th Coup in 1984. Mr. Paul Biya recently offered 40 million FCFA to Gabriel Ebili, a technician with Radio Cameroon at the time of the events who reportedly deceived the vigilance of the coup plotters.

The Biya gesture comes after 33 years of misery and precariousness that Gabriel Ebili, the former technician with Cameroon radio in the 1980s had gone through life. The former technician received Saturday January 27, 2017, 40 million FCFA in an emotional ceremony presided over by the Sub-prefect of Lolodorf which held in the Bibondi village (Bikoka). The occasion was actually the laying of the foundation stone for a house that will be constructed for Gabriel Ebili who is already 65 years old.

Aged 32 at the time of the coup, the young radio technician deceived the vigilance of the soldiers who had taken over the radio house and after his heroic act on April 6, 1984; the young technician was obliged to leave the Cameroonian Radio. Gabriel Ebili went on exile and had long wandered in the countries of the Sub region, notably Congo Brazzaville.

According to the Sub-prefect, Epenté Tazeu Adray, “this ceremony is intended simply for Gabriel Ebili, and for the people of this village, to say thank you to the President of the Republic for this act of recognition that leaves a hero out of misery.” By way of advice, the administrative authority suggested to Gabriel Ebili not to put all the 40 million in the house, but to consider creating a plantation and opening a small restaurant for his wife.

Overcoming his emotion, Gabriel Ebili expressed his gratitude for this gesture of the head of state. “I say thank you to the President of the Republic who has just put an end to my misery,” he said. This gesture by Paul Biya is undoubtedly the result of a fierce struggle led by several journalists and writers including Charles Ateba Eyené in his book entitled “Gabriel Ebili, the forgotten hero of April 6, 1984”.

By Sama Ernest with files from CIN