9, January 2018
African Bar Association issues statement following recent arrest of Ambazonian leaders 0
Unlawful arrest /abduction of Cameroonian refugees by Nigerian Security agents
On behalf of the African Bar Association, I write to bring to your esteemed attention and to formally protest the unlawful arrest and abduction of scores of Cameroonian refugees resident in Nigeria by Security agents believed to be from the department of State Security, the Military intelligence or other security organs of the Nigerian State.
Information of this unfortunate incident which reportedly occurred in Abuja on Saturday was made available to the African Bar Association by some of the refugees who witnessed the abduction and managed to escape .
Honourable Attorney -General Sir, it may interest you to know that most of the abductees are Lawyers and registered members of our Association.
Furthermore, these individuals had their privacy invaded and whisked away without a warrant or any explanation at all and taken into custody at an unknown location.
Needless to say that the political problems in the Republic of Cameroon are notorious and in the domain of the international Community with the attendant consequences.
We make bold to say that Nigeria as a respectable and responsible member of the international community has Legal obligations under the United Nations Convention on Refugees, the African Charter on human and people’s rights and several other international and local legislations that gives rights to refugees and other endangered civilian Nationals of other Nations which must be taken into account at all times as Nigeria has obligations to protect these rights.
If the motive for these unlawful acts is to return the refugees to Cameroon, then Nigeria would be violating international Law that forbids Countries from returning refugees to the Countries they are fleeing from.
Cameroon right now is in total chaos with wide spread state sponsored terrorism, political persecution, intimidation, mass rape and murder particularly against the citizens of the Southern part of that Country which has led many to flee the dictatorship there to temporarily reside in Nigeria and other Countries within and outside the African Continent. It may interest you to know sir that Afba has been working hard with other likeminded Continental and international bodies to see that this crisis is resolved and normalcy returns to Cameroon but so far the Government of that Country has prefered Facism and Gestapo tactics to dialogue.
Sir, the African Bar Association as a responsible Professional Association cannot sit by and allow this type of situation to stand where Security operatives under whatever guise or directives violate Human Rights and international Law especially of members of our esteemed Association .
In the circumstances, the African Bar Association demands as follows :
(1)immediate release of all those abducted by Security agents of the Nigerian State.
(2)apology and adequate compensation to these innocent individuals for these grave legal infractions and
(3) thorough investigation into the circumstances which led to this unfortunate incident and adequate punishment for those found culpable.
While we trust in the ability and speedy attention of your good office to meeting these Lawful demands, we shall however not hesitate to approach the Local and international Courts to seek Legal redress if this matter is not resolved with the next 48 hours.
Meanwhile, please accept the assurances of the cooperation and high considerations of the African Bar Association.
Best Regards
Hannibal .E. Uwaifo
President
African Bar Association
8 Ribadu Road, S/W Ikoyi,
Lagos Nigeria
www.afribar.org
hannibal.uwaifo@afribar.org, neoncorporate78@gmail.com, contact@afribar.org, info@afribar.org
+234-8034352861
+234-8023075109
+234-8094110833
+234-818481000
9, January 2018
Boko Haram, Anglophone Crisis Delay Voter Registration in Cameroon 0
Voter registration is underway in Cameroon ahead of nationwide elections later this year, however the electoral body is encountering both voter apathy and challenges due to insecurity in some parts of the country.
The staff of Cameroon elections management body ELECAM move from shop to shop at the busy Mfoundi market in Yaounde convincing potential voters to have their names registered on electoral lists.
A man registers for the elections in Bafoussam, Cameroon, Jan. 5, 2018.
Business lady Winifred Bwei, 34, decides not to sign up.
“Last election year [2013], I went to vote,” she explained. “I saw that somebody had already voted. I saw my name that somebody had already voted [as me] and I was not the one and political parties are complaining that elections are always rigged by the ruling government so I don’t think my voting would change anything.”
Cameroon plans to hold local council, parliamentary and presidential elections starting in September. If held separately, the polls could continue into October.
Few see much suspense as President Paul Biya seeks re-election. He is one of Africa’s longest ruling heads of state. The ruling party has controlled parliament and most local councils for decades.
ELECAM officials, who are appointed by the president, have dismissed allegations of rigging as unfounded.
Besides the voter apathy, election workers are struggling with insecurity in several parts of the country.
Cameroon is currently experiencing tensions in its two English-speaking regions where separatists have declared independence for a new state they call Ambazonia. The yearlong crisis has led to bouts of violent unrest.
FILE – Demonstrators carry banners as they take part in a march voicing their opposition to independence or more autonomy for the anglophone regions, in Douala, Cameroon, Oct. 1, 2017.
Voter registration has been suspended in some places like Manyu Division in southwestern Cameroon where there have been regular clashes between the military and armed separatists.
Meanwhile, the central African state also continues to battle Boko Haram in its Far North region. The suicide bombings that re-intensified in mid-2017 have abated, but many people are yet to return home.
As of November 30, the U.N. Refugee Agency reports a total of 240,000 internally displaced people in Cameroon, nearly all of them in the Far North.
FILE- Cameroonian internally displaced queue at a camp in Kolofata, in the extreme north of Cameroon, for a food distribution provided by the International Red Cross Committee (ICR) on Feb. 22, 2017.
Paulin Djorwe, official of the opposition political party the Movement for the Defense of the Republic, says the Boko Haram conflict has left people unable to register to vote.
He says many potential voters are unable to acquire national identity cards because police identification stations in some border zones were closed due to Boko Haram terrorism. He says if the elections management body ELECAM and the government want many more people of voting age to register, they should reopen the identification offices.
ELECAM says it can only move into conflict zones in the north and some villages and towns in the anglophone regions to begin voter registration once the military declares those areas safe.
FILE – This photo taken June 17, 2014 shows Cameroonian soldiers standing next to pick up trucks with mounted heavy artillery in Mora, northern Cameroon.
The electoral body aims to register 10 million from the estimated 12 million people in the country aged 20 and above and eligible to vote. So far, 6.5 million voters have registered.
Abdoulaye Babale, head of ELECAM, says they will intensity their efforts.
“We are developing a new strategy,” he said. “In rural areas, generally people take their time. We are going to have caravans informing them long in advance and then we implicate the traditional rulers and the civil society to help us because time is against us. In major cities, we also have our caravans and [we will] multiply our stations in order to catch as many voters as possible.”
No date, or dates, for the polls have been set. Voter registration is scheduled to end the day President Paul Biya makes that announcement. The president can postpone the elections if calm does not return to hotspots.
Source: VOA