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9, July 2019

Battle For Ambaland: Tension mounts between Restoration Forces and Francophone soldiers ⁰

Tension continues to mount between Ambazonia Restoration Forces and Cameroon government army soldiers in Southern Cameroons. It follows a protracted conflict which has led some 500,000 indigenes fleeing the country.

In Bamenda, Brigadier General Agha Robinson Ndong who commands the French Cameroun 5th Joint Military Region recently observed that the region is desperate at this particular moment.

“I’m telling you again, that we might not be saints, we are not, but we do our best. So the population understands that. We are with them and we’ve come here not only to defend them, to encourage them to develop themselves”, General Ndong said.

The region is burdened with violence and instability as Cameroon government forces and Ambazonia Restoration fighters battle for control of the Northern Zone.

The French Cameroun army and government are desperate at this particular moment and they are using every means to smear the Ambazonian war of independence and to escape charges for crimes against humanity.

There have been allegations of threat, torture and execution- a claim human rights groups blame both sides for. But both the Cameroonian army and Ambazonia Restoration Forces deny the claim and blame the other party.

Southern Cameroonians claim to be sidelined by the country’s French speaking majority. Thousands have been killed and Amba forces have vowed to continue with the fighting.

Recently, Switzerland said it will mediate the crisis in the Central African nation but ordered the 86 year old President Biya to leave Geneva with immediate effect after violent protest staged by French speaking Cameroonians rocked the European nation.

Reported by AP with additional editing from Camcordnews

9, July 2019

Indomitable Lions: Seedorf unsure of Cameroon future after Africa Cup of Nations exit ⁰

Having failed to guide the Indomitable Lions to a successful title defense in Egypt, the Dutch tactician is uncertain if he will remain in his post

Coach Clarence Seedorf was coy about his Cameroon future after the Indomitable Lions crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations in the Round of 16.

The reigning African kings were silenced 3-2 by Nigeria in a devastating result which saw Seedorf’s men surrender a one goal lead in Alexandria.

The result has led to speculation the Dutch legend could be shown the door after his Afcon failure. However, Seedorf himself is uncertain of what the future holds.

“Maybe you want to give us a few days,” he told the media.

“The first thing is I’m very sorry for the boys. They have worked really hard and played well but this is football and only one can win in the end.

“It’s not so important in my future. The important thing is what we have built until now; we’ve improved in many aspects on and off the pitch.

“It’s a group that is very united. I hope the people at home can be proud of the fighting spirit we’ve shown.

“Obviously, the disappointment is really big but this is sport. This is the moment where everyone must say we are united and continue to work for the future.”

Source: Goal.com

9, July 2019

Francophone Crisis: Central African Refugees Reluctant to Return Home ⁰

Cameroon says only a tiny fraction of the 285,000 Central African Republic refugees in the country have agreed to return to the CAR. Despite a February peace deal and months of negotiations with Cameroon and the United Nations refugee agency, refugees say they do not feel safe enough to return home.

Forty-nine-year-old Florence Yaomby’s husband was killed in crossfire between rebels and government troops in the Central African Republic town of Mingala four years ago.

She fled to Cameroon for safety, where she has lived as a refugee ever since.

She says she spent her last three years studying in Yaounde to become an accountant. Yaomby says if she returned to the CAR, she is not sure she would find a decent job. She prefers to sell bottled water and soft drinks to university students in Yaounde, where there is peace, and take care of her three kids. They are certain not to get a good education in her country, says Yaomby, because it is devastated by war.

The CAR has been rocked by violence since 2013 when mainly Muslim Seleka rebels ousted then-President Francois Bozize, prompting reprisals from mostly Christian militias.

Cameroon minister for territorial administration Paul Atanga Nji, left, and CAR minister for humanitarian action and reconciliation Viviane Baikou shake hands during a meeting in Yaounde, Cameroon, July 4, 2019. (M. Kindzeka/VOA) — Cameroon minister for territorial administration Paul Atanga Nji, left, and CAR minister for humanitarian action and reconciliation Viviane Baikou shake hands during a meeting in Yaounde, Cameroon, July 4, 2019.

In February, authorities reached a peace deal with 14 armed groups following United Nations-sponsored talks in Khartoum. It was expected to usher in a period of stability and led to an agreement between Bangui, Yaounde, and the United Nations refugee agency for the CAR refugees in Cameroon to return home.

But only 6,000 refugees have so far agreed to leave. Most like Yaomby refuse to return to the CAR, citing fears of violence in some areas and a country devastated by war.

Viviane Baikoua is the CAR’s minister for humanitarian action and reconciliation. She says her country needs its citizens to return and help develop their communities and the nation.

She says she is reiterating to her compatriots who agree to voluntarily return that they will be treated with dignity and that the CAR will protect them and respect all conventions it has signed to uphold their rights back home.

The UNHCR representative in the CAR, Buti Kale, says violence has declined since the peace deal, especially in the country’s western and southwestern areas.

UNHCR representative in the CAR Buti Kale speaks in Yaounde, Cameroon, July 4, 2019. (M. Kindzeka/VOA) — UNHCR representative in the CAR Buti Kale speaks in Yaounde, Cameroon, July 4, 2019.

“One would not say everything is perfect, but one would say for all those who are willing to go back, there are chances that they would be well reinserted into their areas of origin,” Kali said.

But several armed groups have rejected President Faustin-Archange Touadéra’s cabinet because only six of the 14 armed groups that signed the peace are included.

Skeptics of the CAR peace deal point to similar agreements in 2014, 2015 and 2017, which quickly fell apart.

The U.N. says over 600,000 Central Africans remain as refugees in neighboring countries while over 650,000 are internally displaced.

Source: VOA

8, July 2019

Southern Cameroons War: Each of the countries in the CEMAC region including mighty Nigeria — have their own vested interests ⁰

Widespread killings, burning villages, French Cameroun army soldier rapes and looming starvation have become normal in Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia. This is what the African Union, the EU and the United Nations have turned a blind eye after several trips by their respective agents to Southern Cameroons.

Ever since the 86 year old French Cameroun dictator Paul Biya declared war against the people of Southern Cameroons, as many as 3,000 people have been killed. More than half a million Ambazonians have been forced to flee their homes. Approximately 2.3 million people are currently at risk of going hungry, and 80 percent of schools in Southern Cameroons have been closed due to the fighting.

The Biya Francophone regime is applying guerilla tactics using fake armed groups in executing the war. So what is the conflict actually about? Who is fighting whom, and why? And does any world power have any realistic way of stopping the carnage going on in Southern Cameroons?

Bloodshed is nothing new for Southern Cameroons. For 57 years, a brutal marginalization policy raged in Anglophone Cameroon orchestrated by the Francophone dominated government in the predominantly French speaking Central African country.

Finally, some three years ago, protest by teachers and lawyers culminated into an armed conflict that has rocked the entire Southern Cameroons. The fighting in Southern Cameroons has become more intractable due to political tensions in Yaoundé over who to succeed President Biya.

To be sure, only the United States has been particularly active in finding a peace process. Southern Cameroons Diaspora groups in the US and Europe have also been championing the Ambazonia cause, seeing the Southern Cameroons struggle against the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government as a fundamental struggle against the French Cameroun oppression of Southern Cameroonians.

The French government of President Macron with the support of French speaking African diplomats has blocked any action for a referendum on whether Cameroon should be split in two, with Southern Cameroons becoming a separate country. The French government understanding is that any vote will pass overwhelmingly.

The leader of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe noted in a public address to the people of Ambazonia that all who cherish the rights of all people to govern themselves in liberty and law should and must rally behind the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and its institutions.

The final push for Ambazonia independence has been hampered by tensions among the more than 10 different groups. Some corrupt leaders such as Dr Samuel Ikome Sako, Chris Anu and Elvis Kometa including Dr Akwanga Ebenezar and Cho Ayaba have blatantly refused to overlook or ignore or downplay lesser conflicts in order to achieve what has been seen as a far more important goal: independence from La Republique du Cameroun.

The underlying tensions as fabricated by the North West/South West Divide have never actually gone away. And once the bigger fight for independence actually started three years ago, and it came time to actually get down to the business of fighting for a brand new country-the Federal Republic of Ambazonia the Anglophone Divide has come bubbling right back again. The liberation curse took hold when some Ambazonians like Boh Herbert felt entitled to power.

The Ambazonia president Sisiku Ayuk Tabe proclaimed the independence of Southern Cameroons and called for tolerance, unity and love for one another not parochialism and conflict. By appointing Dabney Yerima to the second-highest political office in the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe has essentially built a unity government in which all rival groups are now willing to participate in the struggle.

Also, in the middle of the entire crisis in Southern Cameroons, President Paul Biya decided to basically pick a fight with yet another political group, the Bamilekes by arresting Prof Maurice Kamto, the man widely believed to have won the presidential elections in French Cameroun. There have been attacks by Cameroon government troops on Bamilekes, and some are now taking up arms and promising vengeance on the Beti Ewondo crime syndicate in Yaoundé.

Southern Cameroonians now have a new element of hatred and conflict, adding to what had been going on during the AAC1 and AACII. And that has added to the worry from the Trump administration and the US State Department who fear seeing the entire Ambazonia descending into a hotbed of ethnic genocidal acts on all sides. The violence probably won’t stop anytime soon.

The United States recently pushed for a UN Security Council briefing on Cameroon to try to limit the atrocities being committed by French Cameroun army soldiers. However, the US has not been able to get enough support at the UN Security Council to make peace happen.

The problem is that each of the countries in the CEMAC region including mighty Nigeria — have their own vested interests in the crisis and by extrapolation, the Gulf of Guinea and they can’t seem to agree on what to do to stop the fighting in Ambazonia. Correspondingly, in the African Union diplomats are divided.

This massive escalation in fighting in Southern Cameroons is also happening at the worst possible time, as it comes right at the end of Biya’s presidency. Every day that goes by is another day in which the people of Ambazonia will see their brand-new country torn apart by truly horrific violence.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

8, July 2019

Ambazonia: Interim Gov’t Announces Total Lockdown ⁰

TOTAL LOCKDOWN OF AMBAZONIA AS OUR LEADERS GO TO LRC KANGAROO MILITARY COURTS TUESDAY 9th JULY 2019

Fellow Ambazonians,
I come to you with revolutionary greetings.
In September 2017, our people took to the streets to demand their civil and constitutional rights but were met with gunshots. Tens of our innocent armless citizens were murdered whilst engaging in peaceful protests. War was declared on us by the terrorist government of La Republique du Cameroun. Since then, hundreds of thousands of our people have been internally displaced, more than fifty thousand are living as refugees in Nigeria whilst more than three thousand have been brutally murdered. More than two hundred and ten of our villages have been burned down and thousands of our people are now living in the forests. The damage our innocent people have and are facing is unbearable.
On the fifth of January 2018, this terrorist government showed utter disdain for international law by abducting our leaders in Abuja, Nigeria. Their continuous detention at the Principal Prison in Yaounde is against international law despite the Abuja High Court Decision declaring their return to Nigeria and that they be paid Compensation by the Nigeria Government for illegally abducting and transferring them to Yaoundé. They have since been engaged in a mockery called a trial at the military court in Yaounde.
Last week’s visit of United States Congressmen and Congresswomen led by Mrs Karen Bass to Yaounde shows some of the work we have been doing in the background is paying dividends. It’s a small step but it’s in the right direction. As we continue exploring diplomatic and peaceful options to attain our independence, we MUST take all necessary measures to protect and defend ourselves.
Tomorrow, Tuesday the 9th of July 2019, our leaders will be appearing at the military court in Yaounde. We condemn their continuous detention and that of hundreds of our comrades detained unlawfully without trial in many prisons around La Republique du Cameroun.
Following tomorrow’s court appearance, your Interim Government in solidarity with our Ground Zero commanders and self-defense forces herby support and reinforce the Ground Zero tradition of complete shot down of the Ambazonia Territory each time our Leaders appear in Court. To this regard tomorrow, Tuesday the 9th of July 2019 be observed as a Lockdown all over our country, Ambazonia. This is to show solidarity with our leaders and contempt to the enemy. All business activities, schools, transportation services are called upon to respect this notice.
Monday remains our traditional Country Sunday until we free our land. The Interim Government thanks all Ambazonians on Ground Zero for all your sacrifices as we join efforts to free homeland.
As we continue to fight for our freedom, we would take this opportunity to remind you that it’s freedom or resistance forever.
God Bless You God Bless the Federal Republic of Ambazonia

Milton Taka SOS DCIT/IG SPOKESPERSON

8, July 2019

Deutsche Bank to cut 18,000 jobs in 7.4 bln euro overhaul ⁰

Deutsche Bank on Sunday (July 7) said it plans to cut 18,000 jobs in a sweeping, 7.4 billion euro overhaul designed to turn around Germany’s struggling flagship lender.

The plan represents a major retreat from trading by Deutsche Bank, which for years had tried to compete as a major force on Wall Street.

The bank will scrap its global equities business and scale back its investment bank. It expects a 2.8 billion euro ($3.1 billion) net loss in the second quarter as a result of restructuring charges.

Beyond the expected cutbacks to equities, Deutsche said it would also axe some of its fixed income operations, an area traditionally regarded as one of the bank’s strengths.

It will create a new unit to wind-down unwanted assets, with a value of 74 billion euros of risk-weighted assets.

Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing flagged an extensive restructuring in May when he promised shareholders “tough cutbacks” to the investment bank. The pledge came after Deutsche failed to agree a merger with rival Commerzbank.

“We have started the most fundamental transformation of the Deutsche Bank for decade,” Joerg Eigendorf, Deutsche Bank head of communications told reporters on Sunday. “A new era starts for the Deutsche Bank. A new era, in which we aim to lead Deutsche Bank back onto the path of success for our clients, for our staff and of course for our shareholders,” he added.

Media reports had suggested that Deutsche Bank could cut as many as 20,000 jobs more than one in five of its 91,500 employees.

The bank did not disclose a geographic breakdown of the job cuts. The equities business is focused largely in New York and London.

A person with direct knowledge of the matter said job cuts would be distributed around the world, including in Germany.

The bank’s supervisory board met on Sunday to agree the proposed changes, one of the biggest announcements of job cuts at a major investment bank since 2011 when HSBC said it would axe 30,000 jobs.

(Source: Reuters)

8, July 2019

African states adopt ‘ECO’ as name for new currency ⁰

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has formally agreed on a name for a planned common currency set to be launched in 2020.

“ECO was adopted as the name of the ECOWAS single currency,” representatives of the 15-member group agreed in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on Saturday.

“Afri” and “Kola” had been other names suggested that were rejected by the members.

An ECOWAS statement said the aim was a “gradual approach to the single currency starting with countries that meet the convergent criteria.”

Currently, eight ECOWAS countries – Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo – jointly use the West African CFA franc, while the seven others, including Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, have their own separate currencies.

The idea of a common currency for the West African region was first mooted almost 30 years ago in the hope of boosting cross border trade and economic development.

The ECOWAS statement said the currency would be based on a flexible exchange rate regime, coupled with a monetary policy framework focused on inflation targeting.

Member states should pursue appropriate policies and structural reforms that will sustain accelerated growth and the structural transformation of their economies, it added.

The new “ECO” currency for West Africa has been compared to the European Union’s “Euro” currency.

Nigeria, which accounts for most of the region’s economic output, is the powerhouse of West Africa with over 190 population and the vastest economy.

“It is difficult to see Nigeria agree to being in a monetary union if it is not the boss,” said economist Ndongo Samba Sylla from the Dakar-based Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.

ECOWAS, which was set up in 1975, represents a total population of around 385 million inhabitants.

It comprises Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

Source: Presstv

8, July 2019

Yaounde and Abuja Pledge to Combat “Terrorism” ⁰

Nigeria has promised to assist Cameroon in combating the separatist crisis rocking the central African country’s English speaking region. The pledge, made during a security meeting, has been described by Cameroon authorities as reassuring, following accusations that separatist fighters in Cameroon were being trained in Nigeria, and that weapons they use are brought in through the neighboring country.

Weapons used by separatist fighters suspected to have been made in Nigeria and brought into Cameroon, June 6, 2019. ( Moki Kindzeka/VOA) — Weapons used by separatist fighters suspected to have been made in Nigeria and brought into Cameroon, June 6, 2019.

Brigadier General Emmanuel Adamu Ndagi, leader of the Nigerian delegation to the Cameroon-Nigeria transborder security meeting that ended in Yaounde Saturday, says his country has been seriously affected by the separatist crisis in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

The closure of parts of the border has led to a sharp decline in food imports, like sorghum, rice and onions, to Nigeria on one hand, while basic commodities exported from Nigeria, like fuel, are hard to get into Cameroon. Ndagi says because of the security, economic and humanitarian threats caused by the separatist war, Nigeria will support Cameroon in bringing peace to its troubled regions.

“The current political upheavals in that region will not be allowed to affect our cordial relations,” said Ndagi. “We will continue to support your efforts to bring lasting peace to the region. This will facilitate the return of Cameroonian refugees that have crossed the border into Nigerian territory. We must reduce vulnerabilities along our borders that are being exploited to perpetrate transnational organized crime notably terrorism, proliferation of small arms and light weapons as well as piracy.”

Paul Atanga Nji, head of Cameroon delegation (left) and Brigadier General Emmanuel Adamu Ndagi, leader of the Nigerian delegation (right) in Yaounde, Cameroon, July 6, 2019. ( Moki Kindzeka/VOA) — Paul Atanga Nji, head of Cameroon delegation (left) and Brigadier General Emmanuel Adamu Ndagi, leader of the Nigerian delegation (right) in Yaounde, Cameroon, July 6, 2019.

When Cameroon declared war on the armed separatists in November 2017, it said gunmen were attacking border localities in Cameroon’s southwest and escaping to Nigeria, where some of them were trained. Nigeria denied the assailants were crossing over from its territory into Cameroon.

In January 2018, 47 separatists, including Ayuk Tabe Julius, head of a group from Cameroon’s Angolphone regions pushing for a breakaway from the French-dominant country, were arrested in Abuja, Nigeria, extradited and jailed in Cameroon.

Paul Atanga Nji, territorial administration minister and Cameroon’s leader of the delegation to the security meeting, says in spite of the collaboration, the separatists continue to use porous borders to import weapons through Nigeria, making the security situation very uncertain.

“The security situation along our common borders has all of a sudden become a cause for concern,” Nji said. “These threats take the following forms. Secessionist tendencies, illegal exploitation of natural resources, conflicts between boarder communities, highway robbery, drug and human trafficking, illicit trafficking of fire arms, agro pastoral conflicts etc.”

The UNHCR says that by December 2018 there were more than 32,000 Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria’s Cross River state.

Nigeria’s longest international border is with Cameroon. All along the 1,975 kilometer border there are violent crises. Nigeria’s northeast states of Borno and Adamawa continue to have Boko Haram terrorist attacks.

As the Yaounde security meeting was going on, Kildadi Taguieke Boukar, governor of Cameroon’s Adamaoua region that shares a boundary with Nigeria’s Taraba state, announced renewed conflicts with Nigerians escaping farmer-herder clashes to Cameroon.

“There is a conflict along some tribes in Nigeria’s Taraba state. About 100 people from Nigeria flee [have escaped] to our territory around Kontcha division [administrative unit and], there is agro-pastoral [farmer-herder] conflicts,” Boukar said.

Nigeria has not confirmed the renewed violence, but confrontations erupted last year in Cameroon’s Adamaoua region between farmers and Nigerian cattle ranchers who had escaped tribal wars in Taraba state.

The Cameroon-Nigeria Transborder Security Committee has as prime objective strengthening border security for both countries. It was created in 2012 in Nigeria.

Cameroon and Nigeria agreed on Friday to take further measures to boost multifaceted cooperation in the fight against terrorism along their shared border.

They did not disclose details of how their cooperation will be carried out, but they said they would share information regularly to stop terrorist activities including Boko Haram attacks and separatists fighting for the independence of an English-speaking sate in Cameroon.

They said they would make it difficult for criminals to leave Nigeria for Cameroon and vice versa.

Source: VOA

8, July 2019

Africa Forum to Convene a Symposium on Cameroon ⁰

One of the principal tasks of the Africa Forum (“the Forum”) (www.AfricaForum.org) of former African Heads of State and Government and other African leaders is to support the African Union as it works to guide our Continent to achieve the Objectives detailed in the Constitutive Act. In this context the Forum has done its best to follow the evolving but troubling situation in the Republic of Cameroon.

In this regard it has had the privilege to convey some of its views and suggestions to His Excellency President Paul Biya of Cameroon. The Forum looks forward to further contact with President Biya on this matter.

In the meantime the Forum has thought it very necessary that it should take all necessary steps further to inform itself about the situation in the Republic of Cameroon in as comprehensive a manner as possible.

To achieve this objective the Forum will therefore act to convene a Symposium on Cameroon to be held possibly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia or any other African country which will agree with the Forum to provide a venue for the Symposium.

The Forum will therefore take steps without delay to contact a broad spectrum of the people of Cameroon and invite these to attend what the Forum intends must be an inclusive and open dialogue.

The Forum is convinced that the Symposium will help greatly to empower it the better to assist the Government and people of Cameroon as they work to address the challenges facing this sister African country.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Africa Forum.

7, July 2019

Africa Cup of Nations: Host Egypt, Cameroon knocked out ⁰

South Africa stunned Egypt and Nigeria delivered another upset against Cameroon in a suspenseful second day of the Cup’s round of 16.

Thembinkosi Lorch scored five minutes from time to hand South Africa an upset 1-0 win and knock holders Egypt out of the Africa Cup of Nations as the shock results at the competition continued on Saturday.

South Africa, who had lost two of their three group games yet crept into the knockout stages, showed great improvement and were the more enterprising team, leaving 70,000 partisan fans stunned at the Cairo International Stadium.

Lorch finished off a sweeping counter-attack as South Africa, who created much the better chances, finally got an effort on target.

They will now meet Nigeria, who earlier on Saturday eliminated holders Cameroon, in Wednesday’s quarter-final.

Nigeria heads to quarter-finals with 3-2 win against Cameroon

The earlier match on Saturday also marked a major upset. Odion Ighalo scored twice and teed up Alex Iwobi’s winning goal as Nigeria eliminated defending Africa Cup of Nations champions Cameroon after a thrilling 3-2 victory in Alexandria on Saturday.

China-based forward Ighalo bundled home a scrappy opener but Clarence Seedorf’s Cameroon hit back through Stephane Bahoken and Clinton Njie with two quick-fire goals before half-time.

Nigeria drew level as Ighalo volleyed in his second just past the hour and he then turned provider to play in Iwobi to steer home three minutes later and set up the prospect of a highly anticipated quarter-final clash with hosts and favourites Egypt.

Seedorf’s penchant for change has seen the former Dutch star heavily rotate his Cameroon side in Egypt, with Karl Toko Ekambi dropping to the bench here and 2017 player of the tournament Christian Bassogog recalled along with Clinton Njie in a bid to breathe life into a faltering attack.

Nigeria boss Gernot Rohr paid the price for resting key players in the shock 2-0 loss to Madagascar, with Wilfred Ndidi, Kenneth Omeruo and Alex Iwobi all returning to the starting line-up.

The Super Eagles eliminated Cameroon in the first knockout round the last time they were reigning champions in 2004, and their bid to repeat history looked on when Ighalo nudged Nigeria ahead with a scrappy opening goal after 19 minutes.

Moments after Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui powered a header over at the other end, Peter Etebo hooked a deep cross to the far post where it was driven back across goal by Omeruo and Ighalo stabbed home via a huge deflection that wrong-footed goalkeeper Andre Onana.

It was the first time Cameroon had conceded in Egypt, but after scoring just twice in three group games the Indomitable Lions matched that output in three frenzied minutes before half-time.

Bahoken pulled Cameroon level on 41 minutes when he ghosted in behind Omeruo to connect with a terrific whipped cross from Bassogog, and Njie soon fired them in front after outpacing Ola Aina to a flick-on, holding his nerve and balance to slip beyond Daniel Akpeyi.

Njie nearly got the better of Akpeyi early in the second half, the Nigeria ‘keeper superbly clawing the ball out from just inside his post after the Marseille winger’s cutback was deflected towards goal.

Rohr introduced Samuel Chukwueze with an hour gone but it was Ighalo, the top scorer in qualifying, who came to the rescue once more with a thumping finish after Ahmed Musa chested a cross into his path.

Ighalo joined Senegal star Sadio Mane on a tournament-leading three goals and he played a key role in Iwobi’s decisive strike on 66 minutes, threading the ball through to the Arsenal winger to side-foot past Onana.

Ngadeu-Ngadjui toed wide at a corner but Cameroon struggled to threaten Nigeria in the closing stages with Ighalo denied a hat-trick late on as Onana plunged low to his right to knock away the forward’s header.

(AFP)