About soter

Posts by :

2, February 2018

Cameroon boils: 3 police, one civilian killed in restive after extraditions ⁰

Three policemen and a civilian were killed on Thursday in separate incidents in a region of Cameroon roiled by separatist violence, three days after dozens of activists were extradited from neighbouring Nigeria, sources said.

“Armed separatists this morning attacked a checkpoint” in the village of Bingo, in the country’s Northwest Region, according to a source familiar with military activity in the area.

“Two wounded gendarmes were taken to hospital, where they died of their injuries,” the source said.

In Bamenda, suspects riding a motorcycle also shot dead an officer, a government spokesperson told AFP. A civilian also died after being shot by soldiers during an operation in the nearby city of Santa, sources said.

The violence marked the first casualties among the security forces in the troubled region since Nigeria extradited 47 separatists on Monday, including their self-proclaimed president, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe.

– “Escalation of violence” –

“There is an escalation of violence, undoubtedly,” said Minister of Communication Issa Tchiroma Bakary, citing “a campaign on social networks where they (separatists) invite people to resist and kill.”

“These calls can have an amplifying effect of violence,” he said.

The separatists previously warned the extradition of the 47 from Nigeria to Cameroon would lead to an escalation.

“The abduction (of Ayuk Tabe) is throwing petrol on the flames of the revolution,” Chris Anu, a member of the self-described “government”, told AFP.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Thursday criticised Nigeria for breaching international agreements over the extraditions, saying “their forcible return is in violation of the principle of non-refoulement”.

Non-refoulement, a French term, is the practice of not forcing refugees or asylum-seekers to go back to a country where they could be persecuted.

The UNHCR said most of the 47 had submitted asylum claims in Nigeria.

Amnesty International has also expressed concern about the fate of the arrested separatists, saying they could face torture and an unfair trial.

The separatists are demanding independence for two regions that are home to most of the country’s anglophones, who account for about a fifth of the population.

Their campaign draws on widespread resentment over perceived discrimination at the hands of Cameroon’s French-speaking majority.

On October 1 last year, the breakaway movement issued a symbolic declaration of independence for “Ambazonia,” their name for the putative state.

Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, has responded with a crackdown, including curfews, raids and restrictions on travel.

His government has also forged closer cooperation with Nigeria, where around 30,000 Cameroonians have sought refuge from the violence.

The anglophone minority in Cameroon is a legacy of the colonial period in Africa. France and Britain divided up the former German colony under League of Nations mandates after World War I.

A year after the French-ruled territory became independent in 1961, the southern part of British Cameroons was integrated into a federal system, scrapped 11 years later for a “united republic”.

Cameroon is due to hold general elections, including for the presidency, this year. Observers say the ballot could be badly affected by the crisis in the English-speaking regions.

Source: The Citizen

2, February 2018

Legal questions raised about Nigeria’s extradition of the Ambazonian leader ⁰

The Nigerian authorities extradited 47 Cameroonian Anglophone separatists this week to face charges in Yaoundé where the government has described them as “terrorists”. Concerns have been raised by lawyers about the legality of such an extradition given the lack of any specific treaty between the two countries and outstanding requests made by the separatists for political asylum.

“I’ve not really found any particular extradition treaty between Nigeria and Cameroon,” Abiola Olagunju, Secretary General, Nigerian Bar Association, told RFI. “The nearest one that we have is the charter for the Lake Chad basin that was signed by the president in 2017.”

Ten of the separatists, including Ayuk Tabe, leader of the self-proclaimed Federal Republic of Ambazonia, were arrested by Nigerian security forces at a hotel in Abuja at the start of January.

Olagunju said specific extradition treaties exist with other countries within the Ecowas regional bloc such as Benin, Togo and Ghana, but not with Cameroon. The Nigerian lawyer spoke in general about the legal relationship between the two countries and not specifically about the case of the separatists.

“The first thing we must note is that the crimes or alleged offence must be extraditable, but not every crime or offence is extraditable in Nigeria,” said Olagunju, by telephone. “Political offences are not extraditable […] like treason, sedition and offences against the government of that state,” he added.

Ayuk Tabe is leading a campaign for the creation of a separate English-speaking entity apart from the Francophone administration in Yaoundé. Tensions in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions have grown over the past year.

The crisis began with protests over perceived marginalisation by the Cameroonian authorities. The government responded with a crackdown including curfews, raids and restrictions on travel. More recently another separatist entity called the Ambazonia Governing Council has launched attacks against Cameroonian security forces.

The Ambazonia Governing Council has been clear in its use of violence, carrying out “defensive actions” and “exercising its right to defend itself”, according to its leader Cho Ayaba. On the other hand, Ayuk Tabe has previously told RFI that he eschews violent action and has only ever called for peaceful protests.

Political asylum?

In addition to questions over the extradition arrangement between Nigeria and Cameroon, some have highlighted that the separatists made a request for political asylum in Nigeria and registered with the UN refugee agency.

“The country director of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees did write to the government explaining the legal status of the refugees under international law,” Femi Falana, a Nigerian human rights lawyer who acted for the separatists, told RFI. “But in defiance of the rule of law the Nigerian government has thrown them out.”

Nigeria is a state party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, which cover the rights of refugees and asylum seekers. Depending on the circumstances of the separatists’ extradition, the Nigerian government may have violated the terms of these agreements.

“What the Nigerian government has done is indefensible,” said lawyer Falana. “The fear is that they are going to be put on trial and probably tried for treason which attracts the death penalty in Cameroon.”

The UN refugee agency in Nigeria and at its headquarters in Geneva were unavailable for a comment about this case despite several requests by RFI.

International law

The Cameroonian authorities hailed the extradition of Ayuk Tabe and his separatist supporters following their arrival in the capital. The government said it underlined the close relationship between the two countries, emphasising that the extradition was perfectly legal.

“Whatever has taken place is within the framework of our laws,” Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the government spokesperson and minister of communications, told RFI. “We are a law abiding nation as well as Nigeria, our brotherly neighbour country.”

“Rest assured that no violation of the law, in one way or another, has ever taken place and will never take place,” Minister Bakary added, refusing to comment specifically on the extradition process.

RFI

2, February 2018

Yaounde: Sisiku Ayuk Tabe’s lawyer unable to see him, govt mute ⁰

The Cameroonian government has refused to respond to communication from a lawyer representing detained separatist leader, Julius Ayuk Tabe. According to lawyer Abdul Oroh, he has been unable to communicate with his client who he says is being illegally held by the government.

Yaounde confirmed early this week that Ayuk Tabe and 46 others had been extradited from Nigeria and that they had been handed over to the judiciary for the necessary processes. Nigeria and Cameroon have no extradition treaty, they do not have that relationship, and these people are not terrorists.

Speaking to the BBC Focus on Africa Radio the lawyer said he has written to several authorities including the national security chief and defense ministers but has yet to get a response.

He also expressed worry that the Nigerian authorities who arrested Tabe and others had also been tight lipped on the matter.

He slammed Cameroon’s Information Minister, Issa Tchiroma-Bakary for referring to the arrested nationals as terrorists in his statement announcing their deportation earlier this week. He has also demanded that his client and the others be released.

Ayuk Tabe is widely referred to as the leader of the Republic of Ambazonia – a group in Cameroon’s Angolphone region, pushing for a breakaway from French-dominant Cameroon. Its defense wing has claimed responsibility for deadly attacks on security officials deployed to the region.

The group said it classified all security personnel – be they soldiers, gendarmes or police as occupiers of their land. Over a dozen officers have been killed in guerilla style attacks especially at checkpoints. Tabe and six others were arrested in a hotel in the Nigerian capital Abuja in early January. Reports differed over whether they were arrested by Cameroonian operatives or Nigerian security.

Nigeria’s Department of State Security is believed to have been behind the raid leading to their arrest. He was one of fifteen others who Cameroon issued an international arrest warrant for in November 2017.

Ayuk, a former businessman who had lived in Nigeria, is seen as a moderate voice in the separatist movement and has in the past promoted dialogue over violence. Nevertheless, he has been the target of Cameroonian authorities as a leading member of a resurgent movement to break away from French-speaking Cameroon.

Source: Africa News

2, February 2018

French Cameroun soldiers invasion: Nigerian Senator calls on Aso Rock to explore diplomatic channel ⁰

The Senator representing Cross River Central, John Owna Enoh, Thursday asked the Federal Government to quickly explore official channels of communication between the country and Cameroon to protest the violation of the territorial integrity of Nigeria by Cameroon soldiers.

Enoh said that exploring diplomatic means to deal with the issue became imperative following reports that about 100 Cameroon soldiers allegedly crossed the international border into Danare on Monday night in search of the country’s militants in a crackdown on Anglophone secessionists said to have sought refuge in Nigeria.

The Cross River Central lawmakers in a statement recalled that the latest attack came on the heels of a similar attack on the same communities which falls within his constituency in December 2017.

Enoh said that in swift response to the dastardly attack on law abiding citizens of Danare, he through a motion of urgent national importance on the floor of the Senate drew the attention of Nigerians and the government to the unwarranted attack.

The lawmaker noted that he had among other prayers, called on the federal authority to deploy troops to Danare as a deterrent to stem further incursion and aggression on his constituents by Cameroonian soldiers.

The deployment of a battalion of Nigerian soldiers in the area, he said, seems not to have deterred the incursion from Cameroonian soldiers.

He described the latest invasion of Danare as unfortunate, condemnable and “constitutes a gross violation of the inalienable rights of my people to peaceful co-existence.”

He insisted that “the peaceful and law abiding citizens of Danare deserve a peaceful environment in order to pursue their legitimate aspirations.” The incessant violation of the inalienable rights of the people, which he described as fundamental, by Cameroonian soldiers, he said, is unacceptable.

“I therefore use this medium to call on the Federal Government to explore all official channels of communication between Nigeria and Cameroon to protest this violation of the territorial integrity of our nation,” he said.

Enoh said that Nigerian troops who have already been deployed in Danare should live up to their professional calling in defence of the people of Danare.

According to him, the presence of Nigerian troops reassuring as it is to the people of Danare, should not be mere tokenism but should be informed by a full evaluation of the military challenges and the consequent deployment of adequate number of soldiers who will be in the position to respond adequately to deter further attacks.

Enoh appealed to the Nigerian soldiers on ground to continue to fully discharge their professional duties in defence of the people of Danare and the territorial integrity of the Nigerian State.

Source: The Nation

2, February 2018

Ambazonia Crisis: UN slams Nigeria over Sisiku Ayuk Tabe extradition ⁰

The UN refugee agency on Thursday criticised Nigeria for breaching international agreements after the leader of a Cameroonian anglophone separatist movement and his supporters were extradited at Yaounde’s request. The UNHCR said it learned “with great concern” about the case of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, who was sent back to Cameroon this week with 46 others. They were arrested in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, on January 5.

Cameroon has called the 47 “terrorists” and said they would “answer for their crimes”, as tensions mount in the Southwest and Northwest Regions, home to most of the country’s English-speakers. They have complained about decades of economic inequality and social injustice at the hands of the French-speaking majority.

Ayuk Tabe wants the two regions to separate from the French-speaking part of the country. On October 1 last year, his movement made a symbolic declaration of independence. The UNHCR said most of the 47 sent back to Cameroon had submitted asylum claims in Nigeria. “Their forcible return is in violation of the principle of non-refoulement, which constitutes the cornerstone of international refugee law,” it said in a statement. Non-refoulement, a French term, is the practice of not forcing refugees or asylum-seekers to go back to a country where they could be persecuted.

“The returns were carried out despite UNHCR’s efforts and engagement with the authorities,” the agency said. “UNHCR reminds Nigeria of its obligations under international and Nigerian law, and urges the Nigerian Government to refrain from forcible returns of Cameroonian asylum-seekers back to their country of origin.” Human rights groups have called on Cameroon to ensure those detained get a fair trial and are well-treated. Cameroonian President Paul Biya strongly opposes secession and has flooded both regions with troops, imposed curfews, conducted raids and slapped restrictions on travel. An estimated 30,000 English-speakers have fled Cameroon to Nigeria.

www.vanguardngr.com

2, February 2018

UK sets up EU row over post-Brexit citizens’ rights ⁰

UK Prime Minister Theresa May says European Union citizens arriving in Britain during its post-Brexit transition period should not be afforded the same rights as those who arrived earlier.

The embattled premier appears set for a clash with EU negotiators after telling reporters on a trip to China that “there is a difference between those who came prior to us leaving and those who will come when they know the UK is leaving.”

She added that the status of such EU citizens would be “a matter for negotiation” when Britain meets with EU officials again in March to set the terms of the transition period, which is expected to last around two years after Britain officially exits the bloc in March 2019.

Brussels on Monday warned London that “citizens’ rights during the transition are not negotiable.”

The European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt said that “for the transition to work” there could not be “two sets of rights for EU citizens.”

That would mean the continuation of free movement and citizens’ rights for EU nationals residing in the UK during the Brexit transition, an arrangement that would cause anger among pro-Brexit lawmakers and ministers within May’s Conservative Party.

Deputy Brexit Secretary Robin Walker on Thursday insisted that Britain would not accept such an agreement.

“The citizens’ rights agreement reached in December does give certainty about the rights of EU citizens already here going forward but this agreement does not cover those who are arriving after we leave the EU,” he told Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons.

The EU and UK negotiated an agreement in December that safeguards the rights of EU citizens who arrive in Britain before it leaves the bloc next year, giving reciprocal protections for British citizens living in the EU.

The agreement allows those who have lived continuously in Britain for five years to be able to apply for settled status, while others will be able to remain in order to build-up five years’ continuous residence.

The British government has faced fierce criticism both at home and by the EU for its lack of clarity on its Brexit strategy.

The uncertainty has raised fears that Britain could crash out of the bloc without a trade deal, incurring heavy costs on domestic economy.

Source: Presstv

2, February 2018

Kenya court orders government to lift ban on three TV stations ⁰

Kenya’s High Court has suspended a government blackout imposed on three private television broadcasters over a live coverage of an opposition rally in the capital Nairobi.

Judge Chacha Mwita ordered Thursday that the shutdown imposed on the private stations, namely Kenya Television Network, Citizen Television and Nation Television News, would be suspended for two weeks so that the court could hear a petition by activist Okiya Omtatah Okoiti against the ban.

The administration of President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered a shutdown of the TV stations on Tuesday morning after they ran a live coverage of a mock swearing-in ceremony for opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Okoiti described the gag as “grossly arbitrary, disproportionate, oppressive, and unreasonable.”

Kenyatta had reportedly warned heads of the TV stations last Friday that they will be cut off the air if they broadcast the event.

A man sits in a control center of the NTV channel, which was shutdown by the Kenyan government because of its coverage of opposition leader Raila Odinga’s symbolic presidential inauguration this week, at the Nation group media building In Nairobi, Kenya, February 1, 2018. (Photo by Reuters)

Odinga was sworn in as Kenya’s “people’s president” at a park in Nairobi to the cheers of thousands of supporters. The mock ceremony came in response to Kenyatta’s taking of office for a second time, which the opposition believes was the result of rigged votes.

Odinga refused to accept the results of an initial presidential election last August. He then boycotted a re-run ordered by Kenya’s Supreme Court, claiming irregularities that existed in the first round still persisted. Official government tallies show that around 100 have been killed since the start of vote-related unrest in the Horn of Africa country.

An investigation has been launched into the Tuesday mock swearing-in ceremony which had no sign of violence.

Meanwhile, people on Thursday protested the arrest of Tom Kajwang, a lawyer and opposition lawmaker who administered Odinga’s “oath,” as he was standing a trial over his role in the swearing-in ceremony.

Source: Presstv

1, February 2018

Power cut leaves hundreds of gold miners trapped underground in South Africa ⁰

About 950 gold miners were stuck underground in South Africa on Thursday after a power cut, the mine’s owner said, though the workers were not reported to be in immediate danger.

The Sibanye-Stillwater mining company said a massive power outage had prevented lifts from bringing the night shift to the surface at the Beatrix gold mine, near the city of Welkom.

“We sent rescue teams down, accounted for all the people and we obviously are trying to get them out of there as soon as possible,” James Wellsted, spokesman for Sibanye-Stillwater, told ENCA television.

“All employees appear to be fine. We are supplying food and water,” Wellsted added in a telephone message to AFP.

He said the depth where the miners were trapped was uncertain, but the mine has 23 levels, going down to about 1,000 meters (3280 feet) below ground.

About 65 people were rescued during the day, with 950 remaining trapped by early evening, the company said.

Wellsted said that engineers were struggling to get emergency generators to operate and re-start the lifts.

“We are having some issues — probably related to the power surge linked to the storm — in getting the winders working, so we are busy working on that issue at the moment,” he added.

“Last night there was a severe storm in the Free State that affected two different power cables… and cut off all electricity supply to the mine, so we were unable to bring the night shift up.”

One cable was restored during the day.

‘Serious concern’

The Beatrix mine is in Free State province, 290 kilometers (180 miles) southwest of Johannesburg.

AMCU, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, said that the workers stuck underground were facing major health and safety risks.

“AMCU views this incident as extreme due to the sheer number of workers involved,” it said in a statement.

“The incident raises serious concern regarding the lacking emergency contingency plans at the mine for alternative and back-up power generation.”

It said workers’ lives could be in danger from dehydration and lack of nutrition, especially if they were on medication.

Last August five mineworkers died after sections of a gold mine collapsed outside Johannesburg.

The country possesses rich mineral reserves and has some of the world’s deepest gold mines.

Gold was for many decades the backbone of South Africa’s economy, but production has declined sharply due to depletion of reserves.

(Story by AFP)

1, February 2018

Samuel Eto’o joins Turkish Super Lig club Konyaspor ⁰

Former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto’o has signed a contract with Turkish top-flight club Konyaspor after parting ways with Antalyaspor.

“Eto’o is a very important player in the world and in Turkey. We are happy to see him in Konyaspor,” club president Fatih Yilmaz said.

The 36-year-old former Cameroon international, who joined Antalyaspor in 2015 after a short spell in Italy with Sampdoria, has signed an 18-month contract with Konyaspor.

The two-time Africa Cup of Nations winner enjoyed five hugely successful seasons with Barcelona from 2004 to 2009, winning two Champions League titles and three La Liga crowns before departing for Inter Milan, where he had more success under Jose Mourinho.

Eto’o helped Inter team win the treble of Champions League, Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in his first season in Italy before moving to Russia’s Anzhi Makhachkala in 2011. He also had brief stints at Chelsea and Everton in the Premier League.

Source: AFP

1, February 2018

French Cameroon soldier kills three civilians ⁰

A Cameroonian soldier shot dead three civilians overnight in the northern town of Mora, sources close to the security services said on Thursday.

The man, a corporal deployed as part of the fight against the Nigerian militant Islamist group Boko Haram, killed two women and a boy, according to one source. Nine others were injured.

Another security source confirmed the toll and called the shooting “an act of madness”.

A source said the man had deserted his base and had been going house-to-house while under the influence of cannabis, demanding money and opening fire on those who refused. The victims are believed to be from among those displaced in the region by the fighting.

The situation in Mora on Thursday was described as tense, with the refugees demanding retribution against the soldier. Mora is home to the headquarters of the local sector of the Multinational Joint Task Force fighting Boko Haram, in which Cameroon participates along with four other countries in the region.

Boko Haram began its bloody insurgency in Nigeria in 2009, seeking to install an extremist Islamic state in the country.

The militants began cross-border attacks in 2014, and have regularly carried out raids in Cameroon, killing, looting and kidnapping villagers.

AFP