Four journalists and a lawyer were arrested Tuesday in Cameroon while reporting on Africans recently deported from the United States.

The journalists were in a compound in Yaoundé where the deportees were being held to interview and document the conditions, when they were detained by Cameroon authorities, multiple news outlets report.

The judicial police separated the reporters from the lawyer and brought them in for questioning. During his detention, an Associated Press reporter said a police member struck him. The police confiscated cameras, phones and laptops before releasing the reporters.

Cameroon officials said the journalists held sensitive government information, but no formal charges have been filed.

None of the deportees were citizens of Cameroon, and many had legal protections against removal to their home countries, where many of them said their lives would be at risk, according to reports.

Their lawyers said none of the deportees were accused of violent crimes. They also said that those held in detention were told they could not leave the facility unless they agreed to return to their respective countries, despite having gained previous removal protections.

The case has raised concerns over transparency and press freedoms in Cameroon and the U.S. deportation practices that place many in dangerous situations. 

It is unknown whether there is a formal agreement between the U.S. government and Cameroon on the placement of deported individuals.

Cameroon’s Ministry of External Affairs has made no public comment and the State Department told The New York Times it would not comment on “diplomatic communications with other governments.”

Critics, including former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official Scott Schuchart, said the deportations to Cameroon are potentially illegal.

Source: Washington Times

Three Cameroonian soldiers have been sentenced to prison for their role in the killing of at least 21 civilians in the country’s troubled Anglophone region.

The jail terms for the crimes, which took place six years ago in the Northwest region, range from five to 10 years per person.

A military court previously found the soldiers guilty of murder, arson and destruction – a rare occurrence in a country where military personnel are seldom convicted of crimes against civilians.

Nevertheless, lawyers for the victims told the BBC they were disappointed with the length of the jail terms handed down on Thursday, calling them “insignificant”.

The convictions centre on the events of 14 February 2020, when soldiers, supported by a local militia of ethnic Fulanis, raided the village of Ngarbuh and killed civilians.

Source: BBC

An Associated Press journalist was beaten by police and briefly detained alongside three other reporters and a lawyer in Yaoundé while attempting to interview Africans recently deported from the United States, two sources told Reuters.

The journalists had their equipment confiscated, which has yet to be returned, and were taken to the judicial police by plainclothes officers on Tuesday after attempting to film the facility hosting the deportees, sources said.

“It was an extremely stressful experience,” said freelance journalist Randy Joe Sa’ah, who was briefly detained.

“I was surprised by how quickly the situation escalated. It felt as though our only ‘offence’ was simply being present at the facility where people were being held,” he said.

AP declined to comment.

Cameroon’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and police did not respond to requests for comment.

The first group of deportees arrived in Cameroon in January, including two individuals from Ghana, two from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), two from Morocco, two from Angola, and one from Zimbabwe. The Moroccans have since returned home but the remaining seven migrants remain in Cameroon.

A second group arrived early on Monday and included three Ethiopians, one Senegalese, one Kenyan, one Sierra Leonean, and two from the DRC.

The Trump administration has approached a number of African governments about accepting deportees as part of its campaign to deter immigration through high-profile deportations to so-called “third countries.” In some cases migrants have voiced concerns for their safety. Cameroon has not disclosed whether it participated in the U.S. administration’s program. The State Department could not be immediately reached for comment.

The recent flights brought the total number of deportees in Cameroon to 17, according to four deportees and two lawyers.

All the deportees had been granted withholding of removal status in the U.S., which protects individuals from deportation to countries where they fear persecution or harm.

Source: Reuters

The Trump administration secretly deported nine people to Cameroon, despite many of them having U.S. court protections against such action and none of them hailing from that African nation, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

Several of the men and women sent to Cameroon on a January 14 flight from Alexandria, Louisiana, did not know their destination until they were put on a Department of Homeland Security flight and placed in handcuffs and chains, the newspaper said, citing government documents and attorneys for the deportees.

DHS, the State Department and Cameroon’s Ministry of External Affairs did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Reuters could not immediately reach attorneys representing the detainees.

The administration of President Donald Trump has not announced any deal in which Cameroon agreed to accept deportees from other nations.

Source: Reuter

Judge Yngvild Thue of the Oslo District Court extended the pre-trial detention of Cho Lucas Yabah, a separatist leader based in Norway and known as “Ayaba Cho Lucas,” until April 6, 2026. The court recorded the decision in the minutes of the Feb. 9, 2026 hearing, which marked the expiration of the previous detention period.

The court document states that “Cho Lucas Yabah, born August 11, 1972, may remain in pre-trial detention until another decision is taken by the public prosecutor or by the court, but not beyond April 6, 2026.”

Detention renewed every two months since September 2024

Authorities have held Ayaba Cho in custody since September 2024. The judge has renewed his detention every two months, according to the court record. Norwegian authorities opened the case following his arrest in Oslo, which officials announced in September 2024.

After 18 months of repeated denials of release and the addition of new charges of terrorist conspiracy, the prospect of short-term release has diminished, based on the reported elements.

The court could open the trial later this year, as judicial authorities complete the investigation file and finalize the review of evidence gathered since the arrest. Ayaba Cho, who is Cameroonian by origin, naturalized German and resident in Norway, faces a maximum sentence of 21 years in prison for alleged involvement in killings attributed to separatist militias under his command in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions.

Source: Sbbc

At least five people have been killed in clashes in the Northwest Region, security sources said on Monday.

Four people were killed Sunday night when armed men raided Ntumbaw Village. Another commercial motorcyclist was also killed early Monday as clashes erupted in several neighborhoods of Bamenda, the region’s capital, a security source said.

“The sad incident in Ntumbaw has left villagers in a terribly painful situation. Losing four of their sons in a single night is hard to bear. In Bamenda, our brave forces have restored stability after the shooting,” the source said.

No armed group has claimed responsibility for the killings in the region, which has become notorious for deadly clashes.

Separatist fighters have been operating in Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions since 2017, regularly clashing with government forces as they seek to establish an independent state in the regions.

Source: Xinhuanet

Power cuts are becoming a daily constraint in Yaoundé, with electricity distributor Eneo attributing the deterioration in supply to a surge in vandalism and theft targeting its distribution infrastructure in the capital and surrounding areas.

In a Feb. 5 statement, Eneo said that “more than a dozen electrical substations have been vandalized” in recent weeks across several neighborhoods of Yaoundé, including Golf, Ngoa-Ekellé, Messa, Mokolo, Melen, Etoug-Ebe, and Mvolyé. The company said the attacks have targeted equipment considered critical to network operations, making repairs more complex and extending restoration times.

The incidents come against a backdrop of frequent power outages and ongoing tensions between the operator and customers. The impact is spreading across the urban economy, slowing commercial activity and affecting small businesses, health facilities, and schools. Eneo said the acts “seriously undermine the continuity of public electricity service” and place additional strain on technical teams already operating under difficult field conditions.

In response, the company said it has launched an investigation with the support of the relevant authorities to “determine responsibility and identify all those involved, whether internal or external.” The statement suggests that possible internal complicity is not being ruled out, raising broader questions about internal controls and the security of field operations.

Eneo said the problem is not new. As early as April 2025, the utility warned of a rise in sabotage and fraudulent manipulation of the network. More recently, insulators were stolen from the line linking Nkolafamba to Nkolmeyang, on the outskirts of Yaoundé.

In the South region, Eneo said “more than 3,000 insulators” have been stolen since 2022 across several localities in the Dja-et-Lobo department. The financial impact is described as significant. Jean Jacques Ntock, Eneo’s technical delegate in the South, said each incident requires “lengthy, costly reconstruction work,” citing nearly CFA300 million spent on network rehabilitation in Dja-et-Lobo in 2025 alone. He said those funds could otherwise have been used to extend electricity access to new areas.

According to Eneo, stolen equipment is often reused in illegal networks, worsening technical and commercial losses. For a company undergoing renationalization by the state, such practices are presented as an avoidable cause of prolonged outages, alongside other factors such as generation shortfalls, transmission line incidents, and planned maintenance.

The situation is further complicated by financial constraints. Eneo said its debt stood at about CFA800 billion at the end of 2024, largely owed to suppliers, limiting its capacity to invest in securing and modernizing the network.

With power interruptions increasingly normalized in the capital, the utility is calling for greater protection of electricity infrastructure. “Preserving the power network is a collective responsibility, in the interest of the public good,” Eneo said, warning that without civic engagement, vigilance, and cooperation from residents, load shedding could become a lasting feature in Yaoundé.

Source: Sbbc