BY SIMON NDIVE KALLA
The newly elected Limbe-based Bar Council member, Barrister Asoh Ebi Epey, has reaffirmed his commitment to protect the rights of journalists in Limbe as they discharge their duties.
He made the remark on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, at his Peace Law firm, during a ‘thank you’ event he accorded to members of the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists (CAMASEJ) Limbe chapter.
Barrister Asoh Ebi said journalists, being the mirror of the society, must discharge their duties diligently, uphold the ethics of the profession, and provide only reliable facts and accurate information to the public.
He used the event to commend journalists for courageously discharging their responsibilities across the city of Limbe and Cameroon. According to the legal mind, the press is a critical partner in any democratic process, which is why they need to be protected.
Barrister Asoh Epey used the gathering to brainstorm with CAMASEJ members for a more collaborative atmosphere between these two watchdogs of the society.
He used the opportunity to affirm that lawyers are in opposition to a new presidential decree regulating the profession of notary public, especially in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.
“Before now, under the 1990 law, Advocates practicing within the North West and South West regions practiced as Notary public based on section 74 of that said law. We have been practicing like this for years. There has been no problem. The population is satisfied. What’s the necessity for such a law to be passed?” Barrister Asoh Ebi questioned.
He frowned at the decree to appoint notary public in the North West and South West regions, saying it is not legally and socio-politically correct, especially with the present dispensation of the country.
He said if notaries are appointed in the two English-speaking regions of the country, there will be economic hardship in the two regions, and jobs will be taken away from lawyers, which will be very demanding. “There will be economic hardship that will be brought to the people of North West and South West regions if we have notaries appointed, and it will damage our jobs,” he said.
The worst part, the Barrister added, is that the Bar was never consulted, just like the population of the two regions, as stipulated in the special status law. Barrister Asoh Ebi revealed that lawyers within the North West and South West regions are in consultations to have this decision overturned.
He urged the powers that be in Cameroon to revisit the said decision to prevent unforeseen economic hardship in the North West and South West regions of the country. The Bar member used the occasion to unveil his immediate plans for a more inclusive and collaborative Bar Association, owing to his wealth of experience to take the Bar to greater heights.
“I have a very huge experience in management of lawyers’ affairs. As the immediate past president of Fako Lawyer’s Association and somebody who has been in administration of lawyers’ affairs since 2009, I think I know the difficulties lawyers face. I think I understand the day-to-day problems of lawyers because I am a lawyer of the system,” Barrister Asoh Ebi said.
Speaking earlier, CAMASEJ’s Limbe Secretary General, Dean Mongo Eyeih, on behalf of the Association, congratulated Barrister Asoh Ebi Epey on his remarkable achievements while expressing optimism for greater collaboration between journalists and lawyers in the city of Limbe.
On his part, the president of Cameroon Association of Media Professionals (CAMP), Solomon Agborem, said, “Being a Bar Council Member (BCM), you are also a potential Batonnier. So, whatever your missions are, we’re here to accompany you.”
He appreciated the newly elected BCM member for his open-door policy during his mandate as Fako Lawyer’s Association (FAKLA) president, which allowed all journalists to navigate within their meetings and provide accurate reports.
At the end of the event, CAMASEJ members presented him a gift for his brilliant election at the Bar Council.