By Sah Terence A & Ebbsey Ngum
The mayor for Belo Council Dr. Ngong Innocent and the inspector for basic education Dr. Anghii Aaron and one other person have succumbed to gunshots after they were attacked by gunmen on Monday morning as they moved to the ceremonial grandstand to receive the Divisional Officer for Belo for the May 20, celebrations.
The SUN Newspaper spoke to a council staff who was at the scene of the event who said “… They were moving to the grandstand when we got the shots not too far from there. In total confusion, they fell to the ground as another civilian was hit. We did not identify anyone in that state of confusion, security forces fired back several shots in the air as the persons present were running in disorder to seek shelter. The occasion ended in a fiasco” our source said.
A military type coded message circulated across WhatsApp believed to have been shared by the military suggests that there were two attacks in Boyo division Monday morning, that in Belo by opposition forces killing the Mayor and the inspector of basic education, and another attack in Njinikom by opposition forces but which was pushed back by the security forces. The coded message does not talk of a third person killed as opposed to the claims by other sources that three people were shot.
The SUN Newspaper called Denis Awoh Ndang, the North Regional President for the United Cities and Councils of Cameroon UCCC who also doubles as the Mayor for Fundong, the divisional headquarters of Boyo and he confirmed in shock that he had actually gotten confirmation of the passing of his colleague in Belo. He was too shocked to give any specific details leading to his death.
Belo Sub division only regained some relative steam and few persons were beginning to return to the town center early this year when the Mayor lunched auction sales, started establishing free birth certificates for children without birth certificates and organising more community activities to engage the population.
Elected to head the municipality on a CPDM ticket in February 2020, he was on a steady journey to revamp the sub division and cause a return to normalcy before he was shot dead Monday morning.
At the end of May 20 celebrations at the Bamenda ceremonial grandstand, North West governor Adolphe Lelel’Afrique confirmed the death of the mayor of Belo, assuring members of the press that measures have been taken to ensure that the perpetrators of the act are fished out and brought to book. He confirmed that he was killed on his way to the grandstand.
Belo Sub Division has remained a hot bed for armed confrontations between the military and non-state armed groups with some of the most dreaded separatist fighters camps lodged in villages not far from the Belo town center.