The trouble in the North West and South West Regions began in October 2016, when Lawyers and Teachers led protests calling for a two-state federation to preserve the Anglophone legal and education systems which they felt were being annihilated by the francophone- led central government.

The military’s heavy-handed response to peaceful calls for greater autonomy prompted Anglophones to form militias popularly known as Ambazonia Defense Forces leading to an armed conflict the following year. Since 2017, the fighting has claimed over 6,000 lives in the Anglophone regions and displaced nearly 800,000 people, the majority of whom are refugees in neighboring Nigeria. Some have been left in constant tears either following the demise of their loved ones or because their homes have been razed. These attacks have been so alarming that human rights groups across the board have concluded that Cameroon is no longer safe.

For over the years now the government of Cameroon has been battling to arrest the situation but tensions continue to intensify with the civilian population in the two restive regions of the North West end South West in peril, panic, and pandemonium. Due to this confusion and fear of the unknown, many youths and businessmen, professionals of all works of life continue to go underground.

The case of Mbang Magelan Younghabi a Buea-based industrial Art Welder, a graduate of the Linbolango Institute in Limbe, South West Region, of Cameroon remains very pathetic.

Reports say the where about of the 32-year-old Human Rights promoter and one-time President of Linbolango Institute Law Society, remains cloudy since September 2021.

What caused the immediate escape of Mbang to an unknown destination in September 2021, reports say is linked to a talk show program in a Buea Private Station where in he was a guest in July 2021.

In that program, he condemned in the strongest terms the attitude of the military. The military is reported to have taken advantage of the crisis, raided villages of the restive Anglophone regions, conducted mass arrests of innocent civilians, and razed villages and homes to the ground causing thousands to remain Internal Displaced while others saw themselves fleeing out of the country. Mbang is reported to have termed the barbaric acts of the military as genocide.

THE SUN gathered that the military stormed the radio station interrupted the program, arrested both Mbang and the station manager, and whisked them to their detention facility where they were manhandled and placed in harsh inhumane detention conditions for several days even the intervention of his Attorney at Law to secure his release remained futile. Mbang Magelan like others was accused of siding with those clamoring for the Independence of Southern Cameroon and the fabrication of Dane guns and pistols for the separatist reasons why the ” war” is unending.

Mbang, while still under military harsh, inhumane detention was coerced to disclose the names of those aiding and supporting the cause for secession. Despite the fact that Mbang rejected all these allegations, and maintained that he is merely a Rights Promoter, he still stayed in detention under degrading conditions.

Reports say a picture of some protesters who took to the streets to condemn the brutal killing by the military of an Anglophone Journalist and Human Rights crusader  Wazizi sometime in January 2021 in Buea was presented to him with his face singled out in the picture.

Reports say as plans were underway to ferry Magelan to a more severe detention facility in Yaoundé for him to later stand trial at the military tribunal, like other alleged Anglophone activists who had stood trial and sentenced to life imprisonment upon framed up charges of terrorism, secession, hostility against the state and propagation of false information, he in his harsh detention facility had no other option than to cry out in his vernacular. His action is reported to have attracted the attention of one of the security operatives who coincidentally was his tribesman. This is how the officer, out of sympathy, did his best to smuggle Mbang late at night, from detention to an unknown destination.

Family sources confirmed that Mbang later contacted his father thanks to the officer. His father came and rushed him to a clinic for medical attention. News of Mbang being declared wanted by the Yaoundé regime forced his parents to negotiate his escape from the country

As we went to Press family sources hinted that they are constantly under threats, and pressure from security operatives for them to disclose the where about of their son Mbang Magelan Younghabi for they will be arrested and tortured.

As the crisis continues, to deepen, a report of a survey released by a group of Human Rights Organisations in Cameroon indicates that the lives of activists of Anglophone remain risky. The Yaoundé regime is sparing no effort in tracking down those it considers ” agents of destruction”. Even those abroad considered as activists and preaching against the marginalization of Southern Cameroon by the Yaoundé, have equally been declared enemies of the State of Cameroon and have been tagged for persecution.

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The North West and South West regions of Cameroon have remained restive since the outbreak of the Anglophone crisis in 2017. Investigative findings and reports from many human rights groups and non-governmental organisations have condemned extrajudicial killings, by mostly the military, on innocent civilians including children and pregnant women, and the burning of houses.

The Cameroon government has, for over three years now, has been battling to arrest the situation but tensions continue to intensify with civilian population in the North West and South West Regions in peril, panic and pandemonium. Due to this confusion, and fear of the unknown, many youths and businessmen continue to go underground.

The SUN has it on good record that Peter Ngwenwo Ekokobe Fontem, a prolific Kumba-based electrician and lone Mobile Money Business Operators in his area, is currently on the run and military men have blacklisted him for siding with the separatist fighters. As we went to press his whereabouts remains a mystery since December 2021.

Peter Ngwenwo Ekokobe Fontem, reports say, has been arrested several times by security operatives and accused of using his money mobile transfer services to receive money from Anglophone activists abroad for onward transmission to separatist fighters to better arm them.

They are fighting for the independence former Southern Cameroons into a country they have christened Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

In one of his arrests and detentions Ngwenwo was only released after a month thanks to the intervention of family friends after the Police allegedly received a bribe of FCFA 500,000, including the FCFA 2,000,000 million that was in his phone. Sometime in December 2021, Peter Ngwenwo is reported to have  received a call from a soldier, apparently the father his close friend, informing him that he has seen his  name on a list of those who will be arrested to face trial at the Military Court in Yaounde and that he should go underground.

It should be recalled that Common Law Lawyers went to strike in October 2016 to protest government attempts to annihilate the Common Law practice in a constitutionally bilingual and bi-jural Cameroon. The strike lasted for over a year. Anglophone teachers in the country joined the strike on November 21, 2016 to uphold Anglo-Saxon values under threat in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions. The government crackdown on Anglophone activists has since intensified with arbitrary arrests, detention, torture and extra-judicial killings becoming the new normal, human rights groups, have said.

Investigative findings from many human rights groups and nongovernmental organisations have in one voice condemned the extra-judicial killings by mostly the military on innocent civilians including children and pregnant women and burning of houses.

Reports say this situation has caused many to migrate to French Cameroon, while others have fled to neighbouring countries where they are living as refugees. According to statistics from human rights groups, over 7,000 persons have been killed, hundreds kidnapped, thousands of houses and over 400 villages razed with over 75,000 persons identified as internally displaced, with over 45,000 as refugees in Nigeria. Some have been left in constant fears either for the demise of their love ones or because their houses have been razed.

These attacks have been so alarming that human rights groups across the board have concluded that Cameroon is no longer safe.

As we went to Press, sources disclosed that since then Peter Ngwenwo Ekokobe Fontem’s whereabouts remains a misery as the military keeps parading the neighbourhood in Kumba where his family residence is located, searching for him and many other suspected Anglophone activists.

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For over four years now the arm conflict in the North West and South West Regions have been raging on as separatist fighters and secessionist are still demanding for the restoration or total Independence of the former British Southern Cameroon and for a new country to be known as Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

As the war rages on unabatted, the government of Cameroon has made multiple efforts to fish out the perpetrators of the arm conflict both at home and abroad.

Parents and family members of suspected activists and frontline members of those abroad  clamouring for the creation of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia back home are constantly been brutalised, molested , tortured and detained under inhumane condition, in order for them to cause the extradition of their relatives abroad.

Reports hold that many suspected activists abroad who have visited Cameroon  since the Anglophone crisis metamorphosed into an arm conflict with separatist fighters and government forces involved in frequent sporadic cross fire at the detriment of innocent civilians, have been arrested and prosecuted at the military court on frame terrorism related offences.

Rights organisations have documented many evidence indicating that Cameroon is no longer a safe heaven in the Centre Africa Sub Region  as was the case 8 years ago.

Amongst the many activists abroad whose relatives at home are finding it difficult to escape constant military harassment, brutality  and detention is Nymbuh Neba Ericshu’s uncle Bana Nji.

Reports say because of the role played by Nymbuh Neba abroad in line with the Anglophone crisis, his uncle Bana Nji is reported to have escaped to the bush for safety. The military say he is one of the middlemen between Ericshu and the Separatist fighters.

It should be recalled that with the outbreak of the crisis, Nymbuh Neba Ericshu, joined others in the diaspora in September 2017  to  clamour for the total Independence of the people of former British Southern Cameroon. His name alongside others went into records when  a delegation of some Cameroon cabinet Minister’s led by Minister of Justice Laurent  Esso visited Europe to dialogue with Southern Cameroon/ Ambazonia community and were disgraced by the disgruntled Ambazonia community. Thi incident placed him and many others under security searchlight within the national territory.

Another Cameroonian who is facing tough times with the military is Kumba based Businessman, Simo Kameni Vincent. He has constantly been accused  by security operatives for sympathising with Anglophone Separatists.

He was arrested by the military after been  accused of using his nephew Touko Steve Loic who is abroad, for providing finance and logistics to the English speaking diaspora fueling the armed conflict in Cameroon.

Ever since the arrest of Touko Steve’s uncle, Simo Kameni  following the October 2020 attacked on a school in Kumba where several students were killed and others servely inqured, nothing has been heard about him and his whereabout remains cloudy.

Family sources have hinted that Touko is a target in the hands of the military since he regularly visits his uncle Simo, on vacation. His attorney  hinted that Touko is currently under military search light and will be persecuted and prosecuted if arrested within the national territory.

what is now known as the Anglophone crisis that started with the demands from Common Law Lawyers and Anglophone Teachers urging the government for shun the  marginalisation of Anglophone Cameroon by La Republique du Cameroun for a better Cameroon have  taken a different twist. For about five years now, the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon have remained restive.

The crisis has  metamophorsed into an arm conflict, with the emergency of Separatist fighters commonly known as ” Amba Boys” who have taken up   arms against the state in demand for the complete independence of former British  Southern Cameroon.

This move by the separatist fighters, met serious reprisals from government forces, and the death toll has been on the increase, with Businessmen, medicial professionals, politicians,  students and a cross section of individuals in different works of life bearing the greatest brunt.

Houses and villages have been burnt. suspected individuals, linked to separatist fighters and activists of the anglophone course have been arrested, molested, tortured by government forces, and some detained in very horrible inhumane detention conditions.  Others  have gone underground to unknown destination and  are currently  placed  under security searchlight. Government has openly declared them wanted, and will be persecuted and prosecuted any time they are arrested.

It should  be noted that Human Rights groups have in one voice condemned the extrajudicial killings by mostly on innocent civilians, including pregnant women and burning of houses and villages. Reports indicate that the about  4000 civilians’ lives have been claimed by the arm conflict and about 750000 person displaced, with many living in horrible conditions in  neighbouring Nigeria.

International organisations and Western powers have called on the government to address the root cause of the crisis through dialogue. French President Emmanuel Macron have recently promised to exert ” maximum pressure” on the President Paul Biya of Cameroon , to end Cameroon’s  intolerable Human Rights Violations. Many how ever  hold that Cameroon is unsafe for anglophone activists  home and abroad.

Cameroon that used to be a peaceful country in turbulence CEMAC zone is now engulfed by war in the North West and South West Regions and the hope for peace to return is only when they will be a meaningful, genuine  and inclusive dialogue.

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The Anglophone crisis has been raging on now for close to six years. It should be recalled that Common Law Lawyers went to strike in October 2016 to protest government’s attempts to annihilate the Common Law practice in a constitutionally bilingual and bi-jural Cameroon.

The strike lasted for over a year. Anglophone teachers in the country joined the strike on November 21, 2016 to uphold Anglo-Saxon values under threat in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions.

The government’s crackdown on Anglophone activists has since intensified with arbitrary arrests, detention, torture and extra-judicial killings becoming the new normal, human rights groups have said.

Investigative findings from many human rights groups and nongovernmental organisations have, in one voice, condemned the extra-judicial killings by mostly the military on innocent civilians including children and pregnant women and burning of houses.

Reports indicate that about 5,000 civilians’ lives have been claimed by the armed conflict and about 75,000 persons displaced with many living in horrible conditions in Nigeria.

Despite the successful Major National Dialogue that took place in Yaounde from September 30 to October 5, 2019 to resolve the Anglophone crisis, the resolutions taken seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Human Rights Watch, including other bodies across the board, have documented multiple abusive counter insurgency operations by the security forces in the North West and South West Regions since 2017, which its Central Africa  Director, Lewis Mudge,  has never failed to condemn  especially  the extrajudicial killings in Ngarbuh  Village, North West Region where 21 civilians, including 13 children and pregnant women, were massacred  and which he described as “a prime  example of impunity for the Cameroon security Forces”.

Despite all these, the government has established a fresh list of alleged activists targeted for arrest. The list is reported to have been given to intelligence services for action. Amongst the alleged activists who are on government black list and are targets for arrest anytime they set feet in Cameroon are Canada-based Egbe Christabel Motack and UK-based newly elected Southern Cameroons National Council, SCNC, Chairman, Robert Tamanji Njie Philomen Efila, Nyambuh Neba Frankline, Soppo Mindo Pauline Stephanie, Musa Umarou and Ngeh Louise

The case of Ngeh Louise Njam, a Biochemistry graduate from the University of Dschang is very pathetic. Before going underground sometimes in October 2021 reports say Ngeh happens to be a victim of circumstances.

The Sun gathered that, Ngeh relocated to the village and engaged in farming to raise money and further his education, but was caught in the web of the armed conflict rocking the two restive Anglophone regions. Ngeh, just like any other youth, was molested and tortured several times by separatist fighters because he didn’t agree with their activities.

It should be recalled that the military attacked and razed their Small Ekombe village, in Meme Division South West of Cameroon in 2018 because the separatists hoisted the Ambazonia flag at the Village palace in the name of celebrating their “independence Day” on October 1, 2018. This action caused government to install a military base in Small Ekombe to counter separatists from any further demonstrations.

But the presence of the military base didn’t mean anything to the separatists as they continued harassing, molesting and extorting money from the villagers. This caused the villages to alert the military and they confronted the separatist fighters in the village in January 2020. This confrontation was horrifying as innocent civilians died from stray bullets including Ngeh’s mother, and houses burnt down, including the family residence of Ngeh.

The military affirmed that the parents were shot because they were hiding their children who have taken up arms against the nation. With the approach of October 1, 2021 Ngeh Louise Njam advised the many youths not to demonstrate for the repercussion will be very hard on them, but they gave him a deaf ear and carried on with their planned demonstration. Unfortunately for them the military invaded the village on October 3, 2021 and conducted a mass arrest and one of the most dreaded separatists was captured and while undergoing serious molestation and torture he decided to inform the military that Ngeh was their adviser.

This is how Ngeh, and others were bundled away by the military. Family sources say Ngeh, after two weeks in military detention undergoing torture, it was discovered that he wasn’t an adviser to the separatists, but was just a victim of circumstance. One of the soldiers then contacted Ngeh’s elder brother and linked him to their boss, who later smuggled Ngeh out of the country on October 25, 2021 after receiving a kick-back of FCFA 5 million.

The military keeps making impromptu patrols around the village and neighbourhood of Ngeh’s residence in Kumba on a daily bases, promising to arrest and hand him to the government for persecution and prosecution and to consequently kill or jail him for life.

This is the same horrifying situation with yet another alleged Anglophone activists, Musa Umarou, whom the government has blacklisted for arrest and to consequently   jail or kill. Umarou happens to be a victim of circumstance. His elder brother is one of the most dreaded separatist fighters “General Transporter”, who, with some other Anglophone Cameroonians, have taken to the bushes and carrying out attacks on government institutions and the military amidst the Anglophone crisis.

According to reports, the military has several times invaded the home of Musa Umarou, causing the entire family to flee to the bushes. The military is also said to have killed his father, Umaroua Musa, because they considered he was refusing to give information concerning the whereabouts of his son “General Transporter.”

As if this was enough, “General Transporter” and his gang have been on Musa Umarou’s neck to join their camp in the bush to which he vehemently refused and he was suspected to have given information of his brother to the military and the separatist fighters started hunting for him.

This caused Musa Umarou to run into the bushes, and when the military could not trace him, they issued an arrest warrant for him, for failure to report to the military about his brother’s whereabouts. For fear and trauma he did not know the whereabouts of the other members of his family and so he fled from the country in February 2020.

As we went to press, information making rounds in Kumba is that “General Transporter” is so deadly at the moment, causing much pain to the military and even civilians and is a threat even to his brother, Musa Umarou, whom he considers as a “blackleg” helping the military to trace him. Meanwhile, the government too considers him as a co-offender, abetting the commission of secession and civil war by withholding information about his brother who has been declared “wanted dead or alive”.

This is the case of many others who may never be seen again as the conflict in the restive regions shows no sign of ending anytime soon.

The ongoing socio-political impasse in Cameroon especially in the restive North West and South West Regions, the United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour published a 45-page on Cameroon 2018 Human Rights Report wherein it highlighted the worsening human rights situation in Cameroon as about 3,000 civilians lives have been claimed, by the armed conflict, and about 730,000 displaced with many living horrible lives in neigbouring Nigeria.

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Factions of English-speaking Cameroonians came out last Friday October 1, 2021 commemorating the supposed restoration of their independent state, Ambazonia. The said statehood restoration was declared October 1, 2017, by the self-proclaimed president, Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, who is currently serving a life jail term alongside nine other separatist leaders who were arrested in Nigeria and extradited to Cameroon in January 2018, before being sentenced for charges like secession and hostilities against the state.

Hitherto celebrated by Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC) and involving mostly older men and women, who were usually placed under house arrest prior to the supposed Independence Day or arrested to released only after October, the dynamics have changed since October 2017. Separatists leaders and fighters, who took up arms to consolidate their independence some 4 years ago following the declaration of war by President Paul Biya, are now the ones setting the pace on how the supposed independence day is celebrated. While they have resorted to declaring weeks of lockdown before and after the Independence Day, the Cameroon Government uses this period to intensify crackdowns on separatist fighters, activists, and leaders.

Ahead of this year’s celebration of the event, some factions of the Ambazonia leadership abroad, declared a-2-week lockdown, an action which according to Paul Nilong of the Ambazonia Interim Government, was necessary to tell the Yaoundé Government that they are in control. The government on its part, deployed troops and sophisticated weapons to crackdown on activists and fighters, they term ‘terrorists’.

Despite the heavy militarization of the Anglophone regions, amateur images still emerged on the social media with the blue and white flag flying at some strategic spots in the regions, alongside videos of separatist fighters marching and singing freedom songs in some parts of the regions. This show of bravery undoubtedly provoked the Cameroon defense forces leading to a number of clashes. Reports hold that there was a serious battle between the Government forces and Ambazonia restoration forces in Nkambe, North West Region of Cameroon with two soldiers and two separatist fighters said to have been killed.

Then SUN also gathered that the day was characterized with random home-to-home search, arrest and torture of suspected ambazonia supporters and activists. Most of the homes visited where either those located in close proximity to where the Ambazonia flag was hoisted or belonging to activists on the “Wanted List” of the Cameroon Government. The SUN has it on good record that the arm-to-teeth government forces visited the home of a UK-based newly elected SCNC Chairman, Robert Tamanji, alongside other members like: Ivo Kuka, Catherine Yambo, Omawah Elenor Charlotte Oyebog, Alain Bougan, and Meulla Kamgang Armand.

In Ekondo Titi of the Ndian Division of Cameroon, there were report of fierce clashes between Government forces and separatist fighters. The Sun gathered that, after these clashes, the military set out in mad search of a certain 29-year old Noel Sangu Jato, believed to be the one sponsoring separatist activities given that their family house at the periphery of Ekondo Titi has been usurped by separatist fighters as host. The SUN gathered that the arm-to-the-teeth security forces visited the main family residence of Noel Sangu Jato, who has since 2019 been declared wanted by the military and had left the country under unclear circumstances, leaving behind his mother and siblings who are said to be seeking refuge in Nigeria. Clashes between the military and separatists fighters in the Ndian Division has been very rife since the start of the Anglophone crisis, and has led to the death of  Pa Jato.

As we went to Press, family sources hinted that government forces, who came looking for Noel Sangu last Friday October 1, 2021, vowed to spare no efforts at tracking him down. Apart from the few clashes between separatists fighters and government forces, and crackdown, the general atmosphere in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon during this Independence Day was calm, with ghosted streets as many remained indoors for fear of the unknown.

The 2021 edition of the Ambazonia Independence Day has come and gone but there are no signs of the arm conflict ending soon. While the Cameroon Government has intensified the deployment of the military and heavy weapons, the separatists are bent on consolidating their independence come what may.

Meanwhile, Cameroon is now considered unsafe by many Anglophones in the diaspora who fear arrest or death if they return to the country. While the Anglophone crisis continues to escalate, International Organisations and other Western powers have called on the Government to address the root cause of the crisis through dialogue. Also, prominent Anglophone lawyer and Human Rights Activist, Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla, has called on the Government to dialogue, and to release all Anglophones unlawfully detained and imprisoned. Recently French President Emmanuel Macron promised to exert “maximum pressure” on President Paul Biya of Cameroon, to end Cameroon’s intolerable Human Rights violations.

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As the armed conflict rocking the North West and South West regions, which has since escalated into an armed conflict, rages on, health and humanitarian workers are bearing the brunt.

The health and humanitarian workers have been caught between the Ambazonia separatist fighters and government defence and security forces. While the separatist fighters have sometimes kidnapped and also killed some health and humanitarian workers, defence and security forces have, on their part, been arresting any health and humanitarian worker accused of having links with separatists or providing healthcare and humanitarian assistance to seperatists.

The arrested workers are being detained under horrible conditions. Some have reportedly died in detention. It is in this light that many of them have fled into hiding.

One of such humanitarian workers, who has borne the brunt of the armed conflict is Daiga Dylan Bambot Forkwa, who worked with Non‐Governmental Organisation, Kenko Foundation, based in Buea. The organisation has a mission to tackle health inequality in the central African sub region by ensuring that local populations have equal access to healthcare services.

In mid July, while working in Malende, a village in the South West region, Daiga Dylan and his team provided first aid and food to some separatist fighters who had been wounded. But their action did not go down well with the military. Daiga’s supervisor is said to have been questioned by the military, who reportedly told him that whoever was in the team of his organisation that provided aid to the Ambazonia fighters will be killed for helping enemies of the state.

Meanwhile, the military later stormed the Buea residence of Daiga’s parents, looking for him. But they did not find him there. Daiga is said to have later gone into hiding.

As if that was not enough ordeal for him, separatist fighters also accused Daiga and his team of being informants and disclosing their hideouts to the military. The separatists are said to have threatened his father several times, saying their will eliminate the whole of his family.

On September 11, Daiga Dylan was attacked on his way home. He suffered some injuries from the attack and was later treated in hospital. It remains unclear who attacked him, but the attackers are suspected to have been separatists.

That same month the military stormed his house, looking for him. Daiga since then has been on the run. The military has constantly been going to his house, hunting for him. One if his colleagues, whose name we got as Agbor Emmanuel, is said to have been arrested by the military, manhandled and detained. His lifeless body was later found on the banks of a river in Manyu division of the South West region. He had been shot. Two other colleagues of his, Jules Ebonje and Fru Damian, have also been declared missing.

For fear of his life, Daiga Dylan Bambot Forkwa is said to have fled and his whereabouts is not known. If arrested by the military, he will be tried in a military tribunal, under the anti-terrorism law, whose maximum punishment is the death penalty. That is if he is not killed outright like many others who have been victims of extrajudicial killings.

Meanwhile, if the separatists lay hands on Daiga, it is certain they will kill him like many others who have been victims of separatist fighter’s atrocities in the North West and South West regions.

Origin of the crisis

It is worth recalling that the Anglophone crisis, something that pundits say had been brewing for several years, boiled over in 2016 when Common Law Lawyers in the North West and South West regions went on strike, paralyzing the courts. They were demanding for a return to the federal system of government, redeployment of Civil Law Magistrates back to Civil Law Courts among other grievances. Not long after, teachers in the North West and South West regions also went on strike, demanding the redress of several issues concerning the English sub-system of education.

Things got worse when concerned citizens in the North West and South West regions, who had been fed up with the unfavourable political and especially economic stagnation of Cameroon at large, but more importantly in these regions, joined the strike.

But after negotiations with the teachers and lawyers ended in deadlock, the government banned the Southern Cameroons National Council, SCNC, and the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, CACSC. Some of the leaders of the Consortium such as Barrister Felix Agbor Nkongho and Dr. Fontem Niba were immediately arrested while others such as Barrister Bobga Harmony and

Tassang Wilfred fled into hiding.

It should be recalled that leaders of the Anglophone separatist movements including Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and nine others, who were arrested in Abuja, Nigeria in January 2018 and later extradited to Yaounde were in August 2019, handed life jail sentences.

It is also worth noting that many people, both civilians and security forces, have been killed in the crisis, many more internally displaced and over 30,000 have fled to neighbouring Nigeria where they are living as refugees.

While the Anglophone crisis continues to escalate, international organisations and other western powers have called on the government to address the root cause of the crisis through inclusive dialogue.

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The Cameroon Government has intensified crackdown on activists and alleged activists with arbitrary arrests, detention, torture and extra-judicial killings as Anglophone crisis persists. Many suspected activists are on the run, with no sign of the crisis ending anytime soon.

The Anglophone crisis started in 2016 following the strike action of Common Law Lawyers to protest against government attempts to annihilate the common law practice in a constitutionally bilingual and bi-jural Cameroon. Anglophone teachers in the Country joined the strike on November 21, 2016 to uphold Anglo-Saxon values under threat in Cameroon’s two English speaking regions.

The United States Department of States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour published a 45 page report on Cameroon 2018 Human Rights Report wherein they highlighted the worsening Human Rights Situation in Cameroon as a result of the crisis. According to the report, about 3000 civilians lives have been claimed by the arm conflict, with 730000 displaced, many of whom are living horrible lives in neigbouring Nigeria. Amnesty International Published her 2021 Human Rights Report on Cameroon indicting the military, for the atrocities meted on innocent Civilians forcing them to flee the Country due to the arm-conflict in the North West and South West Regions. More and more families within the crisis-stricken Anglophone regions in Cameroon have resorted to going underground after surviving arrest and torture from the military for allegedly collaborating and offering financial assistance to separatist fighters commonly known as ‘Amba Boys’, who are fighting for the restoration of the independence of the statehood of former British Southern Cameroons, termed Ambazonia

The case of Cameroonian born, 26-year-old Nsame Levis Sighan is very pathetic. The father of one has been noted for his role in protests aimed at denouncing the marginalisation of Anglophone Cameroonians by the Cameroon government. As a front line protester, the government took note of all his activities and has arrested, molested, interrogated and detained him under hash and inhumane detention conditions on several occasions. The aim of this repressive act has always been deter Nsame from advocating for social justice. The Sun gathered that the young activist was released on bail in his most recent arrest thanks to the intervention of his father, Nsame Patrick, a presidential security officer.

With the outbreak of the crisis that metamorphosed into an arm-conflict, the government immediately blamed it on advocates for change, and earmarked them for arrest, persecution and prosecution. The Sun gathered from trusted family sources that it thank s to this continuous repression of activists that Nsame Levis decided to flee abroad for studies. While abroad for further studies, reports say the family members of Nsame Levis encountered more military and separatists’

accusations and attacks. The father was tagged as a traitor by both the separatist fighters and the Cameroon military because he worked as presidential security for over 25years.

Nsame’s father, Nsame Patrick Lofe, had to go underground after many summonses and an arrest warrant was served to him. The military raided their residential area in Bamenda, in a bid to arrest Nsame’s father he was not around, a closed relative disclosed. Out of frustration, the military is said to have razed their residence to the ground leaving Nsame’s mother homeless, arrested his uncle whose corpse was later seen in a decomposed state in the forest three months later.

In July 2021, Nsame Levis alongside his wife and child decided visited Cameroon but was arrested, tortured and detained upon his arrival at the airport for insurrections. Nsame Levis was subjected to inhumane treatment while in detention for six weeks. As plans were underway for Nsame to stand trial at the military court for framed up charges, a military officer smuggled him out of detention, thanks to the connection of Nsame’s father, which was also used to acilitate their exit from the country back to Europe. Ever since Nsame and family escaped from Cameroon in September 2021, they have been a man hunt for him. According to family sources, his mother Ngah Confidence Nyeh epse Nsame, has been brutalized several times to disclose information about Nsame Levis’ where about. Meanwhile his father, Pa Nsame Patrick, is under persecution for facilitating his escape from custody.

The government of Cameroon has already declared Nsame Levis a fugitive and the Separatists consider him as a traitor for running away to study abroad while others stayed back to fight the army for the independence of former British Southern Cameroon. Just like the separatists leaders like Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, and nine other members of his cabinet including Tassang Wilfred, Nfor Ngala Nfor, and Barrister Eyambe EbaiIt’s, it is very clear that Nsame Levis Sighan has been placed on security searchlight, and will be persecuted, prosecuted and subsequently jailed if found any where in Cameroon.

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The North West and South West Regions of Cameroon have remained restive since 2017 following what is now known as the Anglophone crisis. The crisis started with the demands from Common Law Lawyers and Anglophone Teachers urging the Government to shun the marginalisation of Anglophone Cameroon by La Republique du Cameroun for a better Cameroon. It has metamorphosed into an arm conflict, with the emergence of Separatist fighters commonly known as ” Amba Boys”, who have taken up arms against the state in demand for the independence of former British Southern Cameroon.

This move by the Separatist fighters, met serious reprisals from government forces, and the death toll has been on the increase especially from the innocent civilian population, with Businessmen, medical professionals, politicians, students and a cross section of individuals of different walks of life.

Houses and villages have been burnt, while suspected individuals linked to Separatist fighters and activists of the Anglophone course have seen themselves arrested, molested and tortured by government forces, with some detained in very horrible inhumane detention conditions. Others have gone underground to an unknown destination and are currently under security searchlight as the Government has openly declared them wanted, and will have them persecuted and prosecuted any time they are arrested.

Latest statistics from national and international rights bodies indicate that over 4000 civilians’ have been killed with about 800,000 displaced, beside many living horrible lives in neighbouring Nigeria due to the arm conflict.

One of such dreadful incidents was on February 14, 2020, when the military, with the assistance of about 30 armed Fulani militiamen, stormed the village of Ngarbuh, in the North West Region, and killed, 21 civilians’, including 13 children and a pregnant woman. This sad incident received widespread condemnation across the board including the UN Secretary General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Union, the USA, UK, France, and the Nobel Women’s Initiative. Despite documented compelling evidence published by New York Times Journal, and corroborated by Human Rights Watch accusing the Cameroon Military for the massacre, the government formally denied her responsibility for the killings in Ngarbuh but later admitted after several criticisms and independent investigations.

All these have made life in the two restive regions unsafe. Amidst all these, the Government is said to have launched a fresh hunt to bring to book all those suspected to be linked to or facilitating the activities of separatist fighters both at home or abroad.

Ekondo Titi in tears

As the crisis rages on, the population of Bekora Barombi, a locality in Ekondo- Titi Sub Division, Ndian Division, South West Region of Cameroon, are still to come to terms with the untimely death of 67 – year-old Monica Esengoe, in a local hospital, following a military brutality on her and other locals on August 29, 2021.

Reports say Monica who succeeded to relocate to a suburb around Buea, was arrested during a raid and while in detention, it was discovered that she was from Bekora village and had escaped when the village was raided after the killing of some soliders there. After several days in detention under inhumane conditions and torture, locals disclosed that she fell seriously sick and for fear that she could die in detention, they moved her to a local hospital where she died.

It should be recalled that Monica Esengoe’s two sons Ival Rawlings Ngabe and Enone Ngabe Kingsley’s where about remain cloudy since September 2018 following a military raid in Bekora Barombi, considered a strong hold of Separatist fighters.

The military raid according to reports resulted from the killing of some military personnel by separatist fighters. As a result, several youths and older men and women were arrested, with some killed. Houses were razed to the ground and many alongside Monica and her two sons; Rawlings and Kingsley escaped to the bush for safety.

As we went to Press, mourners at the funeral of Monica. Esengoe regretted the fact that, Monica was interred without Rawlings and Kingsley, who have not been seen since September 2018. Like several other villagers, denizens are still uncertain of the where about of these two siblings.

It should be noted that those arrested in connection with the Anglophone crisis, are tried in the military tribunal under the terrorism law, with death penalty as maximum sentence. The case of the Ambazonia Leaders that is Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, Barrister Eyambe Elias Ebai, Tassang Wilfred and 5 others, and many other Anglophones is still fresh. Recently, the military tribunal in Buea sentenced some Anglophones linked to the killing of some pupils of the Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy, Kumba in October 2020 to death, and Ival and Kinsley might obviously face the same fate if ever found or arrested by the security forces of Cameroon.

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Security forces in Cameroon have intensified its crackdown on separatist activities, with Ndi Nkemleke Bless Begangacha, a Notable under the Fontem Kingdom, reportedly under detention in connection with separatist activities.

According to reports Ndi Nkemleke, and her sister, Njinkia Sylvie Anu and others were apprehended around the Muyuka neighborhood in Fako Division, south West region of Cameroon by security forces described as vigilant in containing what officials call “illegal support” to Ambazonian groups.

The detainees were reportedly taken into military custody and are believed to be held at Buea Central Prison.

As we gathered, the notable from Fontem and the others have been going through hell in the hands of security and defense forces has drawn attention amid a broader pattern in which the government has routinely detained figures associated with the Anglophone crisis.

Local residents describe life in Buea having changed dramatically, with community leaders and former “head boys” stepping into grassroots roles to meet daily needs in a challenging security climate.

In national and international circles, the government’s approach to the Anglophone crisis continues to generate controversy. The military justice system has handled high-profile cases that remain unresolved in the public eye.

Key context and ongoing issues:

-Ongoing Detentions: Since 2017 numerous Anglophone activists, journalists, and others have reportedly remained in detention after military-court proceedings, raising concerns about due process.

-High-Profile Sentences: Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe, who leads the Ambazonia interim government, and nine others were sentenced to life imprisonment by a military tribunal in 2019; the Court of Appeals upheld these sentences in 2021, and they remain incarcerated.

– International Response: The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has questioned the deprivation of liberty for these individuals and has urged Cameroon to pursue appropriate remedies, including release where appropriate.

– Peace Talks and Legal Fairness: Critics point to stalled ceasefire efforts and accusations that some trials in military courts do not always meet international standards of fairness, with charges often framed as rebellion or secessionism in the context of peaceful protests and advocacy.

Officials have not yet publicly confirmed the specifics of Ndi Nkemleke’s case beyond the reported arrest and detention in Buea.

Advocates for human rights emphasize the importance of transparency, due process, and adherence to fair trial standards amid ongoing tensions in the Anglophone regions.

As Cameroon continues to navigate a difficult path between security concerns and political freedoms, observers say the fate of individuals like Ndi Nkemleke will likely influence future discussions on justice, reconciliation, and regional stability.reconciliation, and regional stability.

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As the crisis in the North West and South West regions, which has escalated into an armed conflict, rages on, the government has continued to target the leaders of the Southern Cameroons National Council, SCNC, and most of the self-styled ‘Generals’ of the Ambazonia separatist movement.

Most of the leaders of the SCNC and the leaders of the Ambazonia separatist movement have been arrested and detained; some tried at the military tribunal in Yaounde and are now serving life sentences at the Kondengui maximum security prison in Yaounde. Others have disappeared and their families are still looking for them. The government continues to target members of the SCNC and Ambazonia separatist fighters, accusing them of being those fuelling the ongoing conflict.

So many SCNC members and some fighters of the Ambazonia separatist movement were arrested on 14 April 2017 during their General Assembly meeting in Kumbo, Bui Division, North West Region and detained. Many members of the SCNC and the Ambazonia separatist forces were released but forced to sign memorandums of understanding, presented by soldiers deployed by the government, to refrain from participating in SCNC activities.

Following the alliance between the Southern Cameroons National Council and the Ambazonia separatist leaders, President Paul Biya declared war on the leaders of these movements and branded them terrorists trying to compromise the integrity of nation. The activities of any secessionist movement following the unilateral declaration of independence in the minority English-speaking Regions of Cameroon were declared illegal, treasonous and the government of Cameroon has been trying to suppress and extinct the activities of the SCNC, and its activists home and abroad.

Elias Babe Tiku, Mbah Idris, Epie Paul Ewane, Ndeh Peter Fru, James Lyonga are renowned members of the Southern Cameroons National Council, SCNC, who were caught distributing flyers from door to door and their images and activities were reported on CRTV 7:30 National News.

On 1 October 2017 and 1 October 2018, following the continuous unilateral declaration of independence by the leaders of the SCNC in alliance with the Ambazonia separatist leaders, Elias Babe Tiku, General Ivo, Mbah Idris, Mancho Bibixy, Penn Terence and two notorious ‘Generals’ of the Ambazonia separatist movement came to the attention of the police and soldiers deployed to the North West and South West Regions as they were caught sensitising the public on the activities of SCNC by sharing flyers, and dropping some at the door-steps of citizens in these areas.

They have again been arrested and taken to unknown destinations. The families of Elias Babe Tiku, Mbah Idris, Mancho Bibixy and General Ivo woke up one morning to the pictures of their sons where they were reportedly tied up, tortured and subjected to inhuman degrading treatment circulating on social media. Their whereabouts is still unknown.

It has been reported on CRTV National News that Elias Babe Tiku, Mbah Idris and General Ivo escaped in the course of transferring them to the Bamenda central prison. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

Since the escape of these detainees to unknown destinations, their family members have been constantly under very serious threats from soldiers who want them the indicate whereabouts of the escapees.

If Elias Babe Tiku and the others arrested, they will be tried under the anti-terrorism law, whose maximum punishment is the death sentence. That is if they are not killed outright, like many others who have suffered from extrajudicial killings.

Meanwhile, separatist leader of the self-declared Republic of Ambazonia, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, and eight other close associates of his, who were arrested in Nigeria and extradited to Cameroon, are currently serving life sentences at the Kondengui maximum security prison in Yaounde. They were sentenced for “terrorism and secession” among other charges after having been tried at the military tribunal.

Many other activists such as Mancho Bibixy, Penn Terrence, Tsi Conrad among others are also serving sentences at the Kondengui prison.

The government has deployed more soldiers to Bamenda to assist in the crackdown of members of the SCNC who are now said to be in alliance with the Ambazonia fighters and most of them are hiding in the bushes.

Meanwhile, some pregnant mothers and their children were reported burnt in their homes in Kumbo, Bui Division by soldiers loyal to the Cameroon Government.

Most activists on social media namely:  Chris Anu, Ray Timah, Sako Samuel, Cho Ayaba Lucas, Aaron Yancho Kaah, Tapang Ivo, Mark Bareta, Barrister Harmony Bobga Mbuton, Barrister Emmy Tricia Kesah and Barrister Nalova Bih who have been advocating for the release of these detainees and that their trials in the Military Tribunal is inhuman have been declared enemies of the state and charged for acts of treason and rebellion against the state of Cameroon.

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