BY NGUM ERNESTINE
More and more Anglophones caught in the web of the ongoing armed conflict in the North West and South West Regions are fleeing to safe havens and most especially where the respect of human rights is Prime as political witch-hunting and scores- settling has taken centre stage.
They have been declared wanted and their families are bearing the brunt of the unending crisis which morphed into an armed conflict since 2017. They are either kidnapped by separatist fighters for ransom, who accuse them of siding with the military on one hand or are arrested tortured, molested and even killed by the military on grounds that they are siding, collaborating or sponsoring the activities of separatist fighters.
Majority have been forced to drop out from school for fear of their lives or because the educational conditions are hostile for many government higher institutions of learning especially as lectures in state-run universities in English-speaking regions are given in French language and exams set as well in French, thus frustrating English-speaking students.
The two restive regions remain the battle ground between separatist fighters and the defemce and security forces with frequent sporadic gun exchange and extrajudicial killings being the order of the day.
As we went to press we gathered that the entire population of Bamenda, Mezam Division of the North West Region was still to come to terms with the unfortunate incidents happening to the family of Akuma Neville Fon, whose whereabouts remains cloudy since September 2023 after he failed to respect a court summons for fear of the unknown.
Reports say his disappearance is causing untold hardship to his family. Apart from the constant harassments by the military that constantly comes looking for Akuma, his father, who was recently arrested in place of Akuma, died in detention while his brother was shot and killed reportedly by the military, all due to the unknown whereabouts of Akuma Neville Fon.
It should be recalled that sometimes in 2019 THE SUN gathered that Akuma, alongside other disgruntled students of the University of Bamenda, were arrested and detained by the Police with instructions from the Vice Chancellor. This was because they complaint about the imposition of French lecturers and the setting of examinations in French in a purely Anglo-Saxon university.
When Akuma was released, he dropped out of school according to family sources. He is said to have gotten married, engaged into business but was later confronted by separatist fighters to join them pick up arms against the military, a difficult decision for him.
THE SUN gathered that when he rejected the Ambazonia fighters’ call, they warned him not to sell selling drinks (brasseries products), considered taboo drinks by the separatist fighters and to fully respect the Monday’s ghost towns and lockdowns.
The military later came for Akuma, arrested, tortured and detained him for siding with Ambazonia fighters urged him not to respect the separatists-imposed lockdown calls which he did.
Caught in the web of the military and separatists, reports say immediately after Akuma Neville Fon was released, the separatists kidnapped him and took to an unknown destination where he was tortured and allegedly raped with a promise to kill him if he continues his collaboration with the military.
Akuma, a victim of circumstances, after he was freed from separatists’ captivity, sources say the military attacked and killed separatists in the camp and the separatists retaliated by killing Akuma’s employee on allegations that Akuma was the one who disclosed their camp to the military.
Family sources say when separatists attacked and killed the military at a checkpoint not far from Akuma’s shop, he became a serious target for the military and a ma hunt was immediately launched by the military for his arrest and persecution.
Reports say this situation has caused many to migrate to French-speaking towns and the cities in Cameroon, while others have fled to neighbouring countries as refugees. Government forces have engaged in extrajudicial killings, random looting, shooting, torture, molestation using disproportionate and discriminating force, abusing and arresting protesters, burning more than 400 villages, 800 houses, displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians, attacking hospitals, beating and raping women and girls.