Cameroon

19, February 2026

AP journalist detained in Cameroon while reporting on U.S. deportees ⁰

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

17, February 2026

Murder of 3 Cameroonians: Nigeria police arrest shrine chief priest, 3 others ⁰

The Anambra State Police Command says it has arrested four suspects in connection with the murder of three Cameroonian nationals in the state.

The Public Relations Officer of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, who made this known in a statement issued on Monday, said security operatives have intensified efforts to arrest the fleeing gang leader and other members of the criminal network involved in the crime.

Ikenga identified the suspects, all male, as 27-year-old Chukwuemeka Emmanuel, popularly known as “Ugoebenajah,” who is alleged to be the Chief Priest of a shrine; 27-year-old Nwabunne Bright; 21-year-old Chinecherem Chiama; and 38-year-old Michael Ekwunife.

The police spokesperson said the operation, which took place on February 13, 2026, led to the recovery of two pump-action guns, one locally made Beretta pistol, a machete, assorted criminal charms, expanded ammunition, 10 live cartridges, and five live 9mm rounds in the Nando community, Anambra East Local Government Area of the state.

According to him, the arrest of the suspects followed the confession of two suspects earlier arrested and currently in custody.

Ikenga said that while acting on the information obtained, operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad in Awkuzu mobilised to a shrine in Nando believed to be linked to the suspects.

“On approaching the shrine, about thirty able-bodied men were observed gathered at the premises,” Ikenga stated.

“Upon sighting the Police, the armed men opened fire on the operatives. The Police operatives responded professionally, engaging the armed men in a gun duel.

“While the prime suspect, Uchenna Mmaduamaka Nicholas, a native of Oroma Etiti Anam, escaped alongside other gang members with bullet wounds.

“Also during the gun battle, one of the arrested armed suspects sustained a bullet injury on the thigh and was immediately taken to a hospital, where he is currently receiving medical treatment.”

The Command said the four suspects are undergoing interrogation, while a manhunt has been launched to track down the fleeing gang leader and other members of the criminal gang.

Reaffirming its commitment to protecting lives and property, the police urged residents to provide credible information to support ongoing investigations, assuring that further developments would be communicated in due course.

Source: Sahara

15, February 2026

President Trump deports 9 Cameroonians despite court protections ⁰

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

13, February 2026

Pope Leo appoints Fr John Tatah as auxiliary bishop of Bamenda ⁰

The announcement of the Holy Father’s decision was read on Friday, 13 February 2026, by His Grace Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Bamenda Archdiocese.

Archbishop Nkea made the announcement at the St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Bamenda before a crowd of faithful. This appointment by Pope Leo XIV is a form of recognition for Father John Berinyuy.

In November 2025, Father John Berinyuy Tatah was kidnapped in the district of Ndop, in the North-West region. He was released a few days later after the expiry of the ultimatum set by Archbishop Andrew Nkea, who had warned that Catholic institutions in the area would be closed if the priest remained in captivity beyond 26 November. The Archdiocese had also planned a peaceful march to demand his release.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Fon Lawrence

13, February 2026

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Norway extends pre-trial detention of Ayaba Cho ⁰

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

10, February 2026

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 5 killed in clashes in Ntumbaw ⁰

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

9, February 2026

Yaoundé: Security strains, political tensions cloud potential papal visit ⁰

Cameroon’s possible inclusion in the itinerary of Pope Leo XIV’s first African trip is drawing growing debate, as security concerns, political tensions and moral objections raise questions about whether the country is ready for a papal visit. While Cameroon has been rumored as a potential stop, no visit has been confirmed, even as Leo has accepted invitations to Equatorial Guinea and Angola, with Algeria being a desired stop as well.

Cameroon’s leading political scientist and expert on security, Kinang Derick, suggested that the nation is simply not yet prepared to host the pontiff safely. In a conversation with OSV News, the scholar said that the immense strain on Cameroon’s security infrastructure, following the contested Oct. 12, 2025, presidential election, could be a major stumbling block.

“Cameroon is just coming out from an electoral year in which a lot of resources have been used to ensure the security of the electoral process,” Derick told OSV News.

“The government might have not recovered sufficiently enough to still have what it takes to put the necessary resources to ensure the pope’s security,” he explained.

Leo’s first trip to Africa as pontiff has had some locations confirmed, with the of Equatorial Guinea being the latest confirmed stop. A series of recent announcements by bishops in Angola and Algeria have indicated that Leo will embark on trips to their respective countries this year.

Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco of Algiers told journalists outside the Paul VI audience hall Jan. 8 that he discussed the possibility of a trip with the pope during the extraordinary consistory and that the visit was “on track.”

On Jan. 13, Angola was announced as another destination that Leo intends to visit this year. At a press conference in Luanda, Polish Archbishop Kryspin Witold Dubiel, apostolic nuncio to Angola, announced that the pope had accepted the invitation from Church and government officials to visit.

While Cameroon was for weeks rumoured as a possible destination, Derick told OSV News the nation’s security forces, both materially and in terms of manpower, are exhausted, compounded by ongoing instability in the two English-speaking regions, as well as Boko Haram incursions in the country’s far-northern region.

Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions have been gripped by separatist violence since 2017, when the government took a hard line following strikes by Anglophone teachers and lawyers.

The expert noted that the severe insecurity in these regions makes a papal trip “logistically and practically impossible at this time.”

He also touched on general infrastructural decay, citing poor road networks and inadequate health facilities in major cities as issues that must be addressed before Cameroon hosts the pontiff.

“You don’t certainly want the pope to move on bumpy roads, or to land on outdated airstrips,” Derick noted.

While a papal visit would certainly be good for strengthening the faiths of Cameroon’s Catholics, estimated at 38.3% of the country’s 30.1 million inhabitants, the government also views such a visit as a critical piece of diplomatic victory — one that would boost Cameroon’s battered image abroad.

The country has been the object of increasing international criticism as a result of gross human rights violations. According to Amnesty International, people critical of the regime face persecution and are threatened with restrictions on their right to freedom of movement. Journalists are intimidated by security forces.

The country’s image was further dented by the Oct. 12, 2025, presidential election. President Paul Biya, in power for 43 years, was declared the winner, extending his rule by another seven years. The main opposition leader, Issa Tchiroma, rejected the results and has since continued to claim that he is the duly elected president.

Furthermore, a prominent Cameroonian Jesuit priest and scholar has publicly urged the pontiff not to visit the West African country, warning that such a visit could be an endorsement of a regime whose legitimacy has been shattered by a recent “grave political and moral crisis.”

In an open letter addressed to the Holy Father, Fr. Ludovic Lado recalled that the latest election was “marred by massive fraud” to ensure the continued rule of 92-year-old Biya. The contested results, he argued, have triggered a painful post-electoral crisis marked by violence, deaths and severe repression.

“The dozens of victims counted were killed by bullets fired at unarmed civilians by an army that has become a militia under the control of one man,” Lado wrote in his letter to the pontiff, adding that the situation in the country is “tragically demonstrating the lack of regard for the dignity of human life in our country, especially that of the poorest.”

Lado argued that a papal visit would betray the pope’s core preference for helping the poor, and instead provide a platform for “an aging elite” — living in “comfort and luxury, almost in another world compared to ordinary people” — clinging to power.

He feared the trip would be instrumentalized by “illegitimate government seeking respectability.”

In a dramatic appeal, the Jesuit priest said, “the hands of the members of Paul Biya’s regime that You will be shaking during Your visit to Cameroon, like those of Herod and Pilate, are stained with the blood of poor Cameroonians, victims of political repression.”

He also highlighted the unresolved Anglophone crisis that killed at least 6,500 people over the last decade.

Instead of a pastoral visit, Lado suggested the Holy See could play a crucial role as a mediator for peace, proposing Vatican support for an initiative led by the Italian Community of Sant’Egidio to help the nation find a path out of its “historical impasse.”

A papal visit should only take place when Cameroon regains “a climate of justice, peace and reconciliation, with legitimate authorities,” he concluded.

Political analyst Derick, however, disagreed that the papal visit could be seen as an endorsement of the political power in the country, and he framed the pope’s potential mission as one of pastoral care and pacification.

“It will not be an endorsement of the present regime. It will be more of a visit to a suffering people, a visit to a category of faithful within the Roman Catholic Church that are in need of their spiritual father to come and tap them on the back and to make them understand all is well, that God has not forgotten Cameroonians,” he told OSV News.

He drew parallels to other international journeys carried out by late Pope Francis, when he visited crisis zones like Congo and the Central African Republic, noting that the pontiff historically travels to places of turmoil to bring hope and advocate for peace, not to validate political leadership.

If the Cameroon leg of the tour is finalized, Leo would become the third pontiff to visit the central African nation, following Pope St. John Paul II in August 1985 and Pope Benedict XVI in March 2009 — all under the same Cameroonian ruler.

Culled from National Catholic Reporter

9, February 2026

Eneo Crisis: incessant blackouts in Yaoundé ⁰

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

4, February 2026

Francophone officials tighten controls to curb cocoa exports to Nigeria in the South West ⁰

Cameroon’s National Cocoa and Coffee Board (ONCC) is stepping up efforts to curb illegal cocoa exports to Nigeria, which continue to affect export revenues and sector oversight. On January 13, ONCC Director General Michael Ndoping chaired a high-level consultative meeting in Douala, on the instructions of Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana.

According to the ONCC, the discussions brought together public and private stakeholders, including exporters, customs officials, and administrative authorities. Talks focused on three priorities: strengthening coordination, addressing operational challenges, and improving trade flows between Cameroon and Nigeria. The consultations form part of the implementation of new regulatory texts aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area, aimed at securing cross-border transactions.

The renewed effort comes as Nigeria is accused of siphoning part of Cameroon’s cocoa output, particularly from the Southwest region, through fraudulent imports. Data from Cameroon’s National Institute of Statistics show that Nigeria absorbed CFA41.4 billion worth of informal Cameroonian cocoa in 2024. The issue had already reached a critical level during the 2022–2023 season, when the government officially reported losses of about CFA70 billion due to fraudulent exports to Nigeria.

In response, Mbarga Atangana introduced a precautionary measure during that season, banning cocoa bean exports to the neighboring country. The government then adopted a new marketing system based on tighter controls over land, sea, and air exports, aimed at reducing undeclared outflows and restoring traceability of volumes.

Since then, Nigeria has gradually formalized its purchases. According to the ONCC, it became the leading African importer of Cameroonian cocoa in the 2024–2025 season, buying 2,100 tons. The shift has not eliminated fraud risks but has altered the balance, with part of the flows moving into formal channels while illicit exports persist in border areas.

In this context, the ONCC is accelerating the rollout of the National Unified Cocoa Traceability System. The tool is intended to meet international requirements, including the European Union’s deforestation regulation, while securing volumes exported to neighboring countries.

Source: Sbbc

3, February 2026

Southern Cameroons: sharp rise in casualties linked to improvised explosive devices ⁰

Cameroon recorded a sharp rise in casualties linked to improvised explosive devices in 2025. Figures released on January 29, 2026, during the 16th session of the National Commission in charge of combating the use of IEDs show that 99 people were affected last year, compared with 19 in 2024, an increase of 421%.

The toll highlights the scale of the threat across the country. The North-West, South-West, and Far North regions accounted for most incidents, with 36, 30, and 33 victims respectively in 2025. The figures include civilians as well as members of the defense and security forces, underlining the indiscriminate nature of these homemade devices.

In the North-West and South-West, insecurity is linked to the sociopolitical crisis that began in late 2016 and escalated into an armed conflict in 2017 between separatist groups and state forces. In the Far North, pressure remains driven by incursions by Boko Haram since Cameroon declared war on the group in 2014. In these areas, IEDs have become “the weapon of choice for terrorist groups,” according to Brigadier General Elokobi Daniel Njock, central director for coordination at the National Gendarmerie.

In response to this trend, the commission, created in 2022 by the Presidency, issued several recommendations. These include strengthening the operational capacities of the defense and security forces through modern equipment for IED detection and neutralization, stepping up national and cross-border coordination, particularly in the Far North, to disrupt explosive supply networks, and improving medical care for the injured as well as psychosocial support for security personnel and affected communities.

Multilateral, bilateral, and subregional partners

In the fight against IEDs, Cameroon relies on multilateral, bilateral, and subregional partnerships. Working with the United Nations system, including the United Nations Mine Action Service, the country says it has obtained an initial UN level 1 certification in IED-related training.

France and the United States also support Cameroon through training and equipment. At the subregional level, engagement includes participation in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic and the Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram.

Authorities also say the country has a specialized laboratory, dedicated IED neutralization equipment, and trained specialists who are regularly deployed nationwide and in external operations. They stress that countering IEDs is a permanent challenge requiring constant adaptation to armed groups’ tactics, ongoing strengthening of human and material capacities, and greater public awareness of the risks.

Source: Business in Cameroon