Headline News

13, May 2022

Biya Health Situation: Brutal tyrant is now like a child ⁰

President Paul Biya is now a shadow of himself and he is slowly but surely turning into a child as he approaches his final days here on planet earth. He met recently with his French doctor but had completely lost the power to speak.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that the reviled dictator has been reduced to a wheelchair after moving to the extension of his palace in Mvomeka’a. Medical care and well trained physicians are lacking in Cameroon after his 40-year-rule.

A source close to his family hinted this reporter late on Wednesday that Biya is almost turning into a child.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, he had made frequent visits to Geneva for medical care — because Cameroon’s own public health system crumbled thanks to his CPDM government’s lack of investment.

The so-called lion man now appears slumped and frail and is seen these days struggling to speak to everyone around him and blaming his collaborators for his failed presidency.

Both French and Southern Cameroonians are no longer interested in news about the man born into a Catholic family, once feted as an African democrat and champion of communal liberalism—but was ultimately corrupted by unchallenged power.

Biya remains a tyrant with a penchant for luxury and has wasted Cameroonian tax payer’s money in numerous five star hotels all over the world.

The war in Southern Cameroons, Boko Haram incursions, the difficult security situation in the east of the country, death squads, rigged elections and an imploding economy are all consequences of Biya’s relentless pursuit of power.

Cameroon is currently at the mercy of Biya and his appointees and under his 40-year-rule, the nation is suffering from an economic ruin, with runaway inflation, mass unemployment and food shortages.

He may never be held to account for the disaster he is presiding over. But some like Atanga Nji and Beti Assomo will face the long arm of the law.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

12, May 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Giving the revolution a bad name ⁰

Cameroonians have been reading online that Senator Mundi who was kidnapped sometime ago has been killed by her captors.

The kidnappers, who claim they are ADF fighters, maintain that holding the old and ailing senator will lead to the release of some Southern Cameroonians being held in the Yaoundé Maximum Security Prison by the Biya regime.

As usual, the Yaoundé government is not showing any interest in the captors’ proposal and this has been irritating to the kidnappers.

When news broke that the elderly senator had been executed by her captors, many Southern Cameroonians were angry with such a decision which many qualify as irresponsible and meaningless.

Many Cameroonians hold that senators in Cameroon do not have any real influence and executing Senator Mundi will just be giving the revolution a very bad name.

The Cameroon Concord News Group has not had any real confirmation that she has been killed and would advise caution in the way some people spread such news. The group’s Northwest region’s correspondent is investigating the rumor and will be updating our readers.

Many vocal Southern Cameroonians hold that it is wrong to even hold Senator Mundi in captivity. Her age alone should discourage anybody from engaging in such bad business.

This lady is senile and sickly and the trauma of living in captivity could kill her.

A revolution which started so nicely has been hijacked by some criminal elements and this is not good.

Today, it has become a war wherein some people are using to settle scores and those who express contrary views get blackmailed, threatened or even get their online accounts hacked just to cook up stories about them.

This is not how the revolution was conceived. It was designed to bring about dignity, a sense of responsibility in the two English-speaking regions of the country and foster unity among Southern Cameroonians.

But the revolution has clearly lost its way. Schools are still closed in rural parts of Southern Cameroons and rogues and illiterates have become judges and law enforcement agents in that part of the country.

Senator Mundi is a Southern Cameroonian and she has a right to her political opinion. Cameroon has been designed in a peculiar way and only the country’s president can make meaningful decisions regarding major political issues.

The fear these days is that Southern Cameroonians will be killing each other because of ideological divergences and many young men who sincerely want to fight for the total independence of Southern Cameroons might quit the fight.

It should also be underscored that Senator Mundi has grown up children who are also watching what is happening to their mother. Humiliating her only alienates these children and many others who hold that the revolution has really come off its rails.

The kidnappers should reexamine their strategy. This action of theirs is not helping the revolution. They know who they should be fighting. Killing and kidnapping other Southern Cameroonians is a disease that is heralding the death of the revolution.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

12, May 2022

Indomitable Lions: Song selects home-based players for training camp ⁰

Cameroon national football team head coach Rigobert Song has summoned a 25-man squad made up of local players for a training camp.

Song made the list public Tuesday night, which comprises players who are plying their trade in Division One Championship in the Central African nation.

“Song wants to give home-based players a chance. This is the first time in the history of Cameroonian football that local players have been called up for training by the head coach. It is expected that the best players will be selected for the preparations of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers,” sports analyst James Mbaru said.

In late April, Song said he wanted better collaboration between local professional clubs, coaches and players in a bid to build a strong national team.

The training camp will run from May 23 to 27.

Source: Xinhuanet

12, May 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Northern Zone Situation Report ⁰

Ambazonian fighters at NKOR Sub Division in Bui raided the village of Katatu and reportedly arrested Alhaji OUMAROU. Cameroon Intelligence Report sources hinted that the fighters’ confiscated 3 bikes after a heavy gun battle with elements from the 52 Mechanized Infantry Battalion. One Amba fighter was killed and one Cameroon government soldier seriously injured.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands that Ambazonian fighters have asked everybody to leave NKOR as they plan to stage attacks against Cameroon government security forces in the coming days.

Elsewhere and precisely in Santa, a younger sister of retired colonel TAMANJONG was also arrested by Amba fighters who are demanding the sum of 3.5million francs CFA before they release her.

Extortion, kidnapping, ransom is now a method used by some Southern Cameroons Self Defense Groups to finance themselves through predation.

All fingers are pointing at the so-called Ambazonian Defence Forces (ADF) and its gang leader Cho Ayaba Lucas for the poor outings of some Southern Cameroons patriotic fighters and for encouraging the kidnapping business in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

By Fon Lawrence in Bamenda

12, May 2022

Flying Coffins: Plane with 11 aboard crashes in Yaoundé ⁰

A plane carrying 11 people crashed in a forest in central Cameroon on Wednesday, the Ministry of Transport said.

Air traffic controllers “lost radio contact with the aircraft” which was later “located in the forest” near Nanga Eboko, around 150 kilometres (90 miles) northeast of the capital Yaoundé, the ministry said in a statement.

A ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plane “crashed” and rescuers were “trying to see if it’s possible to save anyone”.

The plane was chartered by a private company, the Cameroon Oil Transportation Company (COTCO) that maintains a hydrocarbon pipeline that runs between Cameroon and neighbouring Chad, official sources told AFP.

The aircraft, whose type and make was not made public, was flying from Yaoundé-Nsimalen airport to Belabo, in the east of the country, the ministry statement said.

It was the first major air catastrophe reported in Cameroon since 2007, when a Kenya Airways plane carrying 114 people crashed after take-off from Douala Airport. There were no survivors in that accident.

Three years later, an investigation by Cameroon’s civil aviation authority concluded that the crash was due to pilot error.

Since then, Cameroon has only experienced minor air accidents involving small passenger planes or helicopters.

Source: AFP

12, May 2022

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Minister Nalova warns against expelling pregnant girls from school ⁰

Cameroon’s Minister of Secondary Education, Pauline Nalova Lyonga said on Tuesday she was appalled by the news of the dismissal of girls who get pregnant in school and warned that the practice must not continue.

“This practice is against the government policy of keeping all students in school without discrimination. It is also contrary to the government’s policy of promoting gender equality and preventing the dismissal of vulnerable students. It has caused girls to drop out of school,” Lyonga said in a statement on Tuesday.

School officials need to allow confirmed pregnant students to continue with school activities until the 26th week of pregnancy after which she may request to be placed on maternity leave. School officials should also authorize pregnant students to return to school after giving birth, she added.

It is estimated that around half of girls in Cameroon drop out of school because of pregnancy and childbirth.

Source: Xinhuanet

12, May 2022

Bishop Abangalo pledges to give hope to conflict-hit Mamfe diocese ⁰

Against the backdrop of escalating violence that has left thousands dead, the newly-ordained bishop of Mamfe, in Cameroon’s troubled South West Region, has sought to give people a sense of hope.

“I come in peace. I come with hope,“ said Bishop Aloysius Fondong Abangalo in comments to the press shortly after his episcopal consecration.

Fondong Abangalo, appointed bishop on Feb. 22, takes over a diocese where government soldiers and separatist fighters have been engaged in running battles since 2017, when the military burnt down several villages in Mamfe in retaliation for separatist attacks on military installations.

English speakers make up about 20 percent of the population of Cameroon and are concentrated in the North West and South West Regions, while the rest of the country is predominantly French speaking.

The Anglophone crisis began when the central government violently suppressed a 2016 protest led by teachers and lawyers claiming the British-based education infrastructure and common law legal system were being taken over by the Francophone majority, the latest case of marginalization and discrimination experienced by the English-speaking minority.

The next year, a separatist rebellion broke out, with militants declaring they wanted to set up a new country called Ambazonia.

Mamfe continues to be a center of the conflict.

In February, the dormitory of Rosary College Okoyong – a renowned Catholic girls’ school in Mamfe – was torched by gunmen who accused the school of preparing to celebrate a national event organized by the central government in Yaoundé.

“I have been appointed Bishop of Mamfe during a very difficult moment in the history of Cameroon,” Fondong Abangalo said on May 5.

“Many would have loved to be part of this celebration, but because of the fear of the unknown, they prefer to stay back. There is no doubt that the territory of the diocese of Mamfe has experienced the worst casualties in what has come to be known as the Anglophone crisis. A cross section of the diocese has been shut down and many of our Christians and our brothers and sisters constitute a greater part of Internally Displaced Persons, with many more seeking refugee status outside the country,” he said.

The president of the Bishops’ Conference of Cameroon, Archbishop Andrew Nkea of Bamenda, noted the devastation the war has caused.

“Bishop Aloysius, you are called to be the Bishop of this great Diocese of Mamfe – the One Family Diocese – at a time when this diocese has known very dark days with war that has rocked the North West and the South West Regions for the past five years,” Nkea said.

“Many of your Christians are either Internally Displaced Persons in other towns of Cameroon or refugees in Nigeria. Farms have been abandoned. Businesses have been closed down and some schools have grown into forests and become hunting grounds for cane rats and antelopes, snakes and monkeys,” the archbishop said.

“You are inheriting a Christian people who have been haggard and battered by the sufferings of the past years, and yet they are yearning for a bright future. You have come to Mamfe as an apostle of hope to the people of this diocese,” he said. “This war started in Mamfe and I am convinced that the end of this war will come from Mamfe.”

Fondong Abangalo said he recognized the daunting task in front of him. The bishop said he was coming to Mamfe “ready to support in any way possible the initiatives taken so far to put an end to this war. War is never a solution to any problem. In fact, war always leaves a people worse off than it met them.”

Referencing Pope Francis’s efforts to restore peace in South Sudan, particularly when he kissed the feet of the warring South Sudan leaders during a meeting at the Vatican, the bishop said, “I know it is not possible for me to kiss the feet of those who have kept the steam of this war. However, as your brother, I stand here today and I beg each of you from my heart: Please, let’s do whatever it takes to put an end to this war. Let us look at the misery of our brothers and sisters and give peace a chance.”

Nkea reiterated the Catholic Church’s commitment to peace and gave a warning to those who promoted violence.

“An apostle of peace is a promoter of justice without violence…for all who live by the sword shall die by the sword,” the archbishop said.

He also emphasized the importance of hope.

“Where hope is absent, faith itself is called into question. Love too is weakened by the loss of this virtue,” Nkea said.

Source: Crux

12, May 2022

Yaoundé: Ailing Biya visited by his French doctor ⁰

Worried about the series of ailments suffered by 90-year-old Paul Biya in April, the presidential entourage called on his personal physician.

A well-placed source with strong ties to President Biya’s personal physician had hinted Cameroon Intelligence Report that the head of state is clearly nearing his end.

Confirming our earlier report on the dictator, Africa Intelligence now says the president’s men have called in his personal French doctor from Paris.

Lately, Biya has been receiving pills and having a lot of blood taken for examination with a feeling of fatigue and general malaise.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

11, May 2022

Bamenda: Gunman kills suspected hacker/scammer ⁰

A gunman has killed a notorious hacker/scammer in Bamenda after the hacker went around boasting about his exploits.

The gruesome scene took place in a neighborhood close to the Commercial Avenue in the Northwest regional capital of Bemenda in the early hours of Tuesday, sparking panic in the neighborhood.

The gunman, suspected to be an amba fighter, came on a bike with his friend, and when he saw the scammer who was about to leave his one-bedroom house, he discharged his gun in him before rushing back to where his colleague on the bike was waiting for him.

Eyewitnesses say the scene was gruesome but many onlookers said the scammer looked for his own death. “He has been a thorn in our side, an onlooker said,” adding that “taking him down is indeed good riddance. He and his friends hack everything from our MOMO accounts to our social media accounts.”

“He has many unemployed friends who want to live a luxurious life without sweating for it,” a neighbor of the victim told the Cameroon Concord News Group correspondent in Bamenda.

“With the war still going on, it is hard to report certain matters to the police. There are many young idle men around town and some of them have opted for criminality as a way of living and this is hurting our town,” the neighbor added.

“It is rumored that there are death squads in town revenging on people suspected of scamming families and friends,” a Bamenda resident who elected anonymity said.

“Since there is an active war going on, many people think that it is only the fighting that is producing corpses here in Bamenda. Many people are settling scores and they are using the war as a cover-up,” the Bamenda resident said.

“Many of the young men have gone down the route of crimes, hacking people’s account with the objective of making fast money. Some of them are meeting death in their path and if they don’t change their ways, they will meet a very bad fate,” he said.

It is rumored that the victim might have been killed because he scammed some rich Bamileke people in Bafoussam.

The Cameroon Concord News Group correspondent in Bamenda confirmed that the victim had recently been to Bafoussam on a business trip and when he returned, his lifestyle changed for the better.

Some people in the neighborhood who all elected anonymity said the dead man was a terror and his death was good riddance, adding that these boys hack any and everything, making everybody uncomfortable.

It is alleged that even the accounts of some prominent personalities get hacked, citing that of Mr. Enow Abrams, the Elecam boss, whose account was hacked by a hacker who said the election body was looking to set up offices in the regions and that those who paid in some money would be hired.

“I personally got that call and message. I am sure many people were victims, especially young people who are desperately looking for work. I turned down the offer as I suspected that the Elecam boss could not be directly involved in such a mess. I don’t know if the hacker was ever caught,” he said.

It is also alleged that the dead scammer/hacker spent most of his time online, seeking opportunities on Face book. It is also alleged that he had hacked many accounts, especially those of young university girls who are careless and are willing to run after rich people for money. He uses their information to get money and this might also be the cause of his death.

There is fear in Bamenda, as residents suspect that more killings could have been scheduled. Some of the victim’s friends are worried as they cannot explain what has happened to their friend.

Speaking to a security officer in Bamenda, the Cameroon Concord News Group correspondent learned that the Cameroon government has not invested a lot in cyber security and this could be why many young men are getting into that sector, hoping that they can get rich very fast.

But these are all illusions, the security officer said. He stressed that young people could be better off finding different opportunities that will grant them dignity and a pension when they retire. Scamming and hacking do not provide any pension and like in every other profession, hackers and scammers will get old and they will run out of energy and luck.

The security officer, who has sound IT knowledge stressed that hackers should know that their locations could easily be identified from the IP address from which their messages are sent. Every electronic device has an identifier which gives away the user’s location.

He underlined that hackers and scammers in Bamenda should be expecting such sporadic killings as they might be stepping on many big and wrong toes.

It is not too late to quit that nasty profession, he said, adding that nobody deserves to die for peanuts. “How much do those scammers and hackers even make,?”he questioned.

“Why spend your precious time and energy on things that will only attract pain and death? These young men can do better. However, it is up to them. The death of their friend today, should send home a strong message,” he concluded.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with reports from Bamenda

11, May 2022

Operation No 20th May: IG calls for mass mobilization to confront La Republique, defend Ambazonia homeland ⁰

The Ambazonia Interim Government (IG) says all Southern Cameroonians must mobilize to confront the French Cameroun occupation and civil administrators and get ready for a final and decisive trip to Buea the historic capital of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government said the people of Southern Cameroons should stay indoors throughout the week of the so-called National Day Celebration in order for Amba fighters to defend the homeland.

Yerima pointed out in the statement that Southern Cameroons unity and resistance in confronting the French Cameroun military and its leadership will deter La Republique du Cameroun from implementing their malicious scheme of 20^th May Celebration aimed at deceiving the international community.

The Francophone dominated army has been attacking Southern Cameroons civilian population in the rural areas of the Ambazonian homeland.

Cameroon Intelligence Report senior correspondent in Bamenda affirmed that rubber-coated metal bullets injured 13 people on the road linking Bali to Batibo.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai