News

10, April 2025

US: Michelle Obama dismisses divorce rumours ⁰

Michelle Obama has spoken out against rumours that her marriage to Barack Obama might be in trouble.

The former first lady has not accompanied her husband to several high-profile events – including Donald Trump’s inauguration and the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter – fuelling speculation that they might be separating.

Without explicitly mentioning these occasions, Ms Obama told the Work in Progress podcast hosted by actress Sophia Bush that she was now in a position to control her own calendar as a “grown woman”.

She said that people were not able to believe that she was “making a decision” for herself and instead “had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing”.

Ms Obama shared that she felt some guilt for stepping back from certain duties.

“That’s the thing that we as women, I think we struggle with like disappointing people,” she said.

“I mean, so much so that this year people couldn’t even fathom that I was making a choice for myself that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing.

“This couldn’t be a grown woman just making a set of decisions for herself, right? But that’s what society does to us.”

Ms Obama also said in the podcast: “I chose to do what was best for me. Not what I had to do. Not what I thought other people wanted me to do.”

Her absence from President Trump’s inauguration was seen as a break from tradition.

Despite carving out more time for herself, the former first lady said she still finds time to “give speeches, to be out there in the world, to work on projects. I still care about girls’ education”.

The Obamas celebrated their 32nd anniversary last year in October.

Ms Obama has previously been open about the struggles she faced in her marriage due to Mr Obama’s political ambitions and time in the White House in her best-selling memoir, Becoming.

Source: BBC

10, April 2025

Minister Laurent Esso returns to Yaoundé after medical treatment ⁰

The Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals Laurent Esso returned to Yaoundé after spending more than two months abroad shuttling between France and India seeking medical treatment.

The ageing Laurent Esso has not made any public appearances ever since he returned to the nation’s capital.

A CPDM comedian Jean Momo has been the acting justice minister in his absence.

Laurent Esso has been battling an unspecified illness since the beginning of the year and has spent long periods abroad receiving treatment.

He first traveled to Paris for treatment, and then left France again to India.

His absence prompted intense speculation in the country about the justice minister’s health and many false reports circulated online saying he had died.

By Soter Agbaw-Ebai

9, April 2025

France to recognize Palestinian state in June ⁰

France plans to recognize a Palestinian state within months and could make the move at a UN conference in New York in June on settling the Israel-Palestinian conflict, President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview broadcast Wednesday.

“We must move towards recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,” Macron, who this week visited Egypt, told France 5 television.

“Our aim is to chair this conference with Saudi Arabia in June, where we could finalise this movement of mutual recognition by several parties,” he added.

“I will do it because I believe that at some point it will be right and because I also want to participate in a collective dynamic, which must also allow all those who defend Palestine to recognise Israel in turn, which many of them do not do,” he added.

Such recognition would allow France “to be clear in our fight against those who deny Israel’s right to exist — which is the case with Iran — and to commit ourselves to collective security in the region,” he added.

France has long championed a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, including after the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants Hamas on Israel.

But formal recognition by Paris of a Palestinian state would mark a major policy switch and risk antagonising Israel which insists such moves by foreign states are premature.

‘No one will invest a cent’

France’s recognition of Palestinian statehood “would be a step in the right direction in line with safeguarding the rights of the Palestinian people and the two state solution,” Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs Varsen Aghabekian Shahin told AFP.

Nearly 150 countries recognise a Palestinian state. In May 2024, Ireland, Norway and Spain announced recognition, followed by Slovenia in June, in moves partly fuelled by condemnation of Israel’s bombing of Gaza that followed the October 7 attacks.

But France would be the most significant European power to recognise a Palestinian state, a move the United States has also long resisted.

In Egypt, Macron held summit talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II and also made clear he was strongly opposed to any displacement or annexation in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

US President Donald Trump has suggested turning Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” with the Palestinians moving elsewhere — a suggestion that has sparked bitter condemnation.

Macron responded that the Gaza Strip was “not a real estate project.”

“Simplistic thinking sometimes doesn’t help,” he added, and, in a message to Trump said: “Perhaps it would be wonderful if one day it developed in an extraordinary way, but our responsibility is to save lives, restore peace, and negotiate a political framework.”

“If all this doesn’t exist, no one will invest. Today, no one will invest a cent in Gaza,” he said.

Source: AFP

9, April 2025

Nigerian governor warns of Boko Haram comeback ⁰

The governor of Nigeria’s Borno state has warned that jihadist group Boko Haram is making a comeback after its fighters staged a series of attacks and seized control of some parts of the north-eastern state.

Babagana Zulum called for more military assistance for soldiers fighting the insurgency.

The Nigerian government has downplayed the governor’s fears, saying security in the country has improved in the last 18 months.

Borno state has been at the centre of a 15-year insurgency by Boko Haram, which has forced more than two million people to flee their homes and killed more than 40,000.

At the height of its insurgency in 2015, Boko Haram controlled huge areas in Borno state before being beaten back.

The militant group gained international notoriety in April 2014 when it kidnapped more than 270 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok, also in Borno state.

Following a relative lull, the militants have been targeting army bases, police stations and rural communities.

In January, an ambush by the Boko Haram breakaway faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (Iswap), reportedly killed at least 20 Nigerian soldiers, while another attack in the same period left 40 farmers dead.

Governor Zulum said it was disheartening that the group now attacked and kidnapped people in many communities almost on a daily basis.

In a meeting with national security officials, he said that Borno State was “losing ground,” against the jihadists.

Security analysts say the concentration of soldiers in north-western Nigeria to deal with banditry and kidnappings has led to a reduction in the number of troops on the frontline with Boko Haram in Borno and other parts of the north-east.

The fight against the militants became even more challenging after neighbouring Niger withdrew its troops from a regional force set up to tackle the jihadist group.

Another analyst, Hamisu Sani, told the BBC that it wouldn’t be easy to defeat Boko Haram but it wasn’t impossible.

“No matter how our military weaken them, they can always regroup and will remain a threat,” he said.

“The solution would be to crush the fighters in their entirety – which is possible given the right support to our military.”

Source: BBC

8, April 2025

Algeria blocks flights from Mali after drone shot down ⁰

Algeria has closed its airspace to all flights to and from Mali as the row over a drone that was shot down close to their common border escalates.

On Sunday, Mali accused its northern neighbour of being a sponsor and exporter of terrorism after Algeria attacked one of its drones last week.

A strongly worded statement from Mali’s foreign ministry challenged Algeria’s earlier explanation that the unmanned surveillance aircraft had violated its airspace.

The statement described the downing of the drone as a “hostile premeditated action”. Algeria described the allegations as “lacking in seriousness [and they]… warrant no attention or response”.

Mali’s armed forces are fighting ethnic Tuareg separatists in the north. They have a stronghold in the town of Tinzaoutin, which straddles the Mali-Algeria border.

The shooting down of the drone raised diplomatic tensions, as Mali, along with its allies Niger and Burkina Faso, recalled their ambassadors from Algiers.

Last year, the three junta-led countries formed a regional bloc, the Alliance of Sahel States, known by its French acronym AES.

In their joint statement condemning Algeria, they said the shooting down of the drone “prevented the neutralisation of a terrorist group that was planning terrorist acts against the AES”.

Mali has also summoned the Algerian ambassador in Bamako over the incident, declaring that it would file a complaint with “international bodies”. It also withdrew from a regional security grouping that includes Algeria.

In its response on Monday, Algeria said it noted the Malian and AES statements with “deep dismay”. It described Mali’s allegations as an attempt to divert attention away from its own failures.

It also said this was the third violation of its airspace in recent months.

“Due to the repeated violations of our airspace by Mali, the Algerian government has decided to close it to air traffic coming from or to Mali, effective today,” Algeria’s defence ministry said on Monday.

Last Wednesday, Algeria acknowledged that it had shot down an “armed reconnaissance drone” close to Tinzaoutin saying it had “penetrated our airspace over a distance of 2km”.

But the junta in Bamako denied that the drone had violated Algeria’s airspace. It said that the aircraft’s wreckage was found 9.5km inside its borders.

Giving more details on Monday, Algeria said that the aircraft had entered its airspace “then exited before returning on an attack trajectory”.

Mali regularly accuses Algeria of giving shelter to Tuareg armed groups.

The north African country once served as a key mediator during more than a decade of conflict between Mali and the separatists. Their relations have soured since 2020 after the military took power in Bamako.

Algeria recently deployed troops along its borders to prevent the infiltration of militants and weapons from jihadist groups who operate in Mali and other countries in West Africa’s Sahel region.

Source: BBC

8, April 2025

UN says 78,000 Southern Cameroonians sought asylum in Nigeria ⁰

At least 78,962 persons sought asylum in Nigeria from 2000 to 2024.

This is based on a collation of published data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the period reviewed.

The records, compiled from its decades-long tracking of forcibly displaced populations, reveal Cameroon, Niger and Liberia as the top three countries of origin for asylum seekers during this period.

Nigeria’s National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons is the primary agency that manages asylum requests with oversight from the Nigerian Immigration Service, guided by UNHCR’s global frameworks.

Founded in 1989, during the Babangida regime, NCFRMI says it is “dedicated to ensuring that their rights are upheld and that they receive the support necessary to live in safety and dignity.”

The data showed that 52,187 Cameroonian nationals lodged the highest number of applications to Nigeria. In 2017, over 8,000 Cameroon nationals applied for asylum in Nigeria. The numbers jumped again in 2019 (over 19,000) and peaked in 2023 (over 22,000), with the majority located in Madagali, Mubi North, Mubi South and Michika local government areas in Adamawa State.

This surge coincides with the ongoing conflict in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions, which began in late 2016 but escalated around 2017. Thousands fled across the border into Cross River and Taraba states, where humanitarian organisations report acute needs in shelter, healthcare, and education.

Cameroonian refugees are predominantly from the North-West and South-West regions of the country, affected by the conflict between the government and activists calling for the secession of the Anglophone regions.

According to rights groups, over 700,000 Cameroonians have been displaced since the war broke out in September 2017.

While Cameroon dominates the overall total, Niger Republic ranked second with a total of 11,327 asylum requests. 2023 figures showed a significant jump in applications from the Sahel nation, with about 9,800 requests.

Source: The Punch

6, April 2025

Yaoundé relies on short-term debt to cover budget needs in 2024 ⁰

Cameroon leaned heavily on 26-week Treasury bills to raise funds on the Central African regional debt market managed by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC). A report released by the BEAC on April 1, 2025, shows that 76.9% of the country’s Treasury bill issuance was made up of these six-month instruments.

The data also shows that Cameroon’s Treasury raised CFA159 billion through 52-week bills and another CFA80.7 billion via 13-week bills. In contrast, the country raised only CFA281 billion through longer-term Treasury bonds.

This clear preference for short-term securities points to ongoing cash flow difficulties for the government. Treasury bills known for their short maturities ranging from 13 to 52 weeks are often used by governments to cover temporary budget gaps and smooth out short-term liquidity issues.

Source: Business in Cameroon

6, April 2025

Southwesterners form SWELA Chapter in Belgium to strengthen bonds ⁰

At the residence of Chief Bate Arrengang in Antwerpen in the Kingdom of Belgium prominent citizens of the South West region gathered – some from Fako, others from Kupe Muaneneguba and Meme Divisions one common thread unites them –they are all from the South West region extraction.

This is the South West Elites Association, Belgium Chapter formed by South West indigenes to foster the culture and development of their region.

Ngoh Austine Itoe, Barrister Tabi Kefie, Penda Mwaka, Ewang Samuel and Bate Arreyngang all said the birth of SWELA in Belgium is to create a social space where the South West diaspora community can connect and re-connect to their culture and development.

Speaking exclusively to Cameroon Concord News, Chief Ewang Samuel, the supreme leader of the Bakossi people in Belgium noted that SWELA Belgium aren’t simply about culture and development of the home constituency but also a place where Bantus, Semi Bantus and the Tikars of Lebialem can become a family.

SWELA Europe was once a place for South Westerners to make new friends, create a community, and possibly even meet future partners.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in Antwerpen

6, April 2025

Yaoundé: Influential ex-defense minister Mebe Ngo’o jailed for corruption ⁰

The Special Criminal Court has sentenced a former highly influential defence minister to 30 years in prison for corruption, illicit enrichment, embezzlement and money laundering.

Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o was not ordered to pay any fine and his bank accounts and property in the capital Yaoundé and the commercial city of Douala will also not be confiscated by the state even though the judge said Mebe Ngo’o could not justify the origin of his assets.

At a hearing held late in the night of 4 to 5 April 2025, the former Defense Minister was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was accused of embezzling public funds to the tune of CFAF 196 billion.

The final verdict of the Special Criminal Court charged Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o with money laundering, over-invoicing and misappropriation of public assets.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered from a source close to the case that the charges are valued at 23.8 billion CFA francs.

The court also sentenced Maxime Mbangue and Colonel Ghislain Mboutou to 25 years’ imprisonment. The two main co-accused of the former Defence Minister were found guilty by the panel of judges of complicity in embezzlement, complicity in corruption and aggravated money laundering.

Depicting the Special Criminal Court established to prosecute alleged corrupt government officials and the several Alibabas responsible for pilfering from the public treasury as the President’s court is no misnomer. We of the Cameroon Concord News Group call it the President’s court because it is one instrument of power through which the President is reining in on perceived opponents from within his CPDM power conduit. An attribute of a genuine court is the fairness of the trial proceedings in cases which are brought before the court for trial. It is not the number of convictions entered against accused. A court is legitimate and recognized as such because of its exercise of judicial, executive, legislative and administrative independence. A court that is independent must be accessible to all citizens after all, is equality before the law, not a constitutionally protected value? The Special Criminal Court is lacking in these attributes of impartiality, judicial independence and accessibility. It is perceived more as the President’s Court than a Court of Justice.

Establishing this court was President Biya’s way of saving himself the embarrassment of being humiliated during his perennial trips abroad as the President of the most corrupt countries in the world. This ranking of the country as the most corrupt or one of the most corrupt countries had a potential to hamper President Biya’s personal pecuniary interests far from the borders of Cameroon. There was therefore a personal interest need to establish the court. Another personal interest need was to avail himself of a legal tool under his direct control to consolidate absolute power, blackmail potential rebels and competitors within the system and to stifle any form of institutional opposition. He perceived the court as a tool with which to whitewash his more than thirty years of corrupt governance and the rape of the economy. With the war against Boko Haram, the fight against corruption using the Special Criminal Court has afforded Paul Biya justification contest in the next institutionally flawed elections in order to eternalize power purportedly to direct the war against terror and the war against corruption. True to the name the President’s Court, the President has exclusive preserve in referring cases to the Special Court and the power to terminate them. He decides who will be arrested, who will be investigated and who will serve time and who will not.

In one instance, he ordered a detained Minister Bapes Bapes released from remand custody at Kondengui when a warrant was issued for his arrest without the presidential fiat. Titus Edzoa a former Secretary-General at the Presidency of the Republic benefitted from a purported Presidential pardon whose primary purpose was the release of a French citizen Thiery Atangana from jail. The fear of a presidential referral to the Special Criminal Court on additional charges of corruption under a practice devolved under the supervision of Paul Biya called “rouleur compresseur” pushed Titus Edzoa to rejoin the CPDM Party without a public resignation or repudiation of his membership of the party on which he intended to contest presidential elections prior to his incarceration. Edzoa was a victim of this system of presidential justice when new charges were brought against him when his first imprisonment was about to end in other to maintain him in prison.

Cameroonians want the rule of law to be the guarding principle on which justice is administered in the name of the people of Cameroon and not that of the President. To the extent that the Special Criminal Court functions at the pleasure of the President, it fails to meet this threshold. The justice rendered in the court cannot be said to be free and fair nor independent. Because the court serves the political interests of the President, it is institutionally unjust and thus an affront to the tenets of justice and fundamental fairness. Cameroon needs to confront the scourge of institutional corruption, the abuse of public trust, the arrogance of power and the impunity of misrule. The Special Criminal Court as presently constituted is the wrong institution to confront these systemic crimes.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

2, April 2025

Manyu Division: Ma Nchong Stella is the new Ekandim Nkanda of Ntenako ⁰

History was made in Ntenako, a village some few kilometers from Mamfe the chief town in Manyu recently as the indigenes united in one accord and crowned Ma Nchong Stella daughter of late Eyambe Besong Meshack Enow as their new Ekandim Nkanda.

The event was reportedly a unity day for the people of Ntenako village as the Ekandim Nkanda title represents a special quality in the hearts of every Manyu woman of substance.

Ntenako village noted for heavy fines when things go radically wrong reached a unanimous decision that the Germany based Lady Nchong Stella had contributed positively towards the development of Boh Manyi quarter and she is working hard for a unified Ntenako diaspora at a time when nearly every Manyu group is facing internal squabbles, leadership tussle, non-transparency and accountability.

The Ma Nchong Stella celebration in Ntenako featured a well performed cultural dance that was watched by the regent chief Sessekou Besongngem Ferdinand and a prominent notable Sessekou Arrey Walter.

There was a fraternity of family meetings, cultural music dances and the ultimate coronation of Ma Nchong Stella as the Ekandim Nkanda of Ntenako.

Lady Nchong Stella is presently the Cultural Affairs Officer for the Manyu Women International Association-Nyene Mawn Worldwide

By Kingsley Betek with additional reporting from Soter Agbaw-Ebai