The Federal Republic of Nigeria will not consider the extradition of the Interim President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia including nine of his top aides, whom the 84 year old Cameroonian dictator, Paul Biya has accused of destabilising La Republique du Cameroun, the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of the Cameroon Concord News Group, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai said on Sunday.

In an interview with CIR’s Asu Ashu Isong, Agbaw-Ebai said Biya regime officials have wasted time and money assembling evidence and even making a formal request. “The Buhari administration will not even evaluate the facts that Yaoundé submitted.

“Nigeria is not holding back from doing anything, nor have they ever been,” Agbaw-Ebai said. “I have covered Nigerian politics and leaders since 1988 and they have always said, if you have evidence of X, Y or Z, please present it to us. Nigeria knows that Cameroon is not a trusted friend. Not even an ally.”

“Maybe the Jonathan Goodluck failure in managing the Boko Haram crisis that attracted Cameroon is deceiving Biya and his gang. Go and look at documented minutes of the Lake Chad Basin Commission for the last three decades before the coming of Boko Haram. Cameroon and Nigeria have never agreed on anything” Agbaw-Ebai added.

Our senior political man also opined that the Federal Republic of Nigeria has “very strict standards in order to protect people’s rights far better than Cameroon. Even after spending millions of US dollars, Biya cannot go through Nigeria’s legal process,” he said.

Mr. Biya appeared to be “fully in control” after the abduction in Abuja, Agbaw-Ebai said. “Obviously these are not terrorists. These are Southern Cameroons leaders who want President Biya to be held accountable for the genocide going on in Southern Cameroons and Biya will,” he said.

Asked why they are still being held in Abuja, Soter Agbaw-Ebai pointed out that “It’s a normal procedure that is done on diplomatic levels. One country accuses another of providing support to terrorists. The same “terrorists” were having an open meeting in the capital city of the accused nation! What do you expect?  Nigeria is not Equatorial Guinea that Cameroon would dictate to them. Nobody is taking President Ayuk Tabe and his cream of advisers to jail or anywhere. Southern Cameroonians are bracing up for the next phase of the struggle.”

On a lighter note the Chairman stated that “When I listen to some Anglophones asking us to trust Biya and saying that Biya is lazy and stupid! I laugh hard because I know that Biya outsmarted Ayissi Mvodo and became Prime Minister! The same Biya turned against the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo and even slaughtered the people who could have protected Ahidjo. Biya completely finished Ambassador Mendouga, Inoni Ephraim, Titus Edzoa and Pierre Desire Engo!! Such a man is not stupid; such a man is not lazy. The Biya regime has people in Nigeria who are actively working against the struggle.

By Sesekou Asu Ashu Isong in London

A Nigerian intelligence official on Sunday denied arresting Cameroon separatists in Abuja, after a rebel movement said its top leaders had been “abducted by gunmen”. Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the president of the anglophone separatist movement in Cameroon, was arrested during a meeting on Friday, January 5, in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja, according to a statement by the separatists.

“At around 19:30, the gunmen came into the hotel and abducted all of them including the president,” said Chris Anu, secretary of communications for the putative state of Ambazonia. Local news reports in Nigeria said Tabe had been taken into custody by the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria’s intelligence agency.

But the DSS denied arresting Tabe in Abuja, saying instead that in late December they arrested Cameroonians in eastern Taraba state who were suspected of being involved with the separatist movement. “There is nothing like that,” a top DSS official told AFP, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

“There is no arrest of their people in Abuja,” he said. “There was a joint operation carried out in Taraba on the 31st of December 2017 where Cameroonians were arrested,” he said.

“We saw most of them as refugees but when the Cameroonian authorities heard of the arrest, they protested to the inspector general of police that those people arrested were part of the people giving them trouble as secessionists.”

Tabe is pushing for Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions to break away from the francophone country. On October 1, the breakaway movement issued a symbolic declaration of independence for “Ambazonia”. President Paul Biya fiercely opposes secession and has met the agitation with a crackdown, including curfews, raids and restrictions on travel.

International monitors say at least 20 and possibly 40 people have been killed in clashes since late September, though the Biya government fiercly disputes the death toll. The anglophone minority dates to the emergence of Cameroon in 1960-61, as France and Britain wound down their colonies in west Africa.

By

Miriam Metchane Ewang

The Interim Head of State of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia was reportedly arrested by Nigeria secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS).  The Leader of the Indigenous People of British Southern Cameroons was arrested in Abuja including 7 members of his cabinet.

Cameroon Intelligence Report sources in the Nigerian capital say the 9 included Dr. Nfor Ngala Nfor, Chairman of the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC), Dr. Fidelis Nde Che, Dr. Henry Kimeng, Prof. Awasum, Dr. Cornelius Kwanga, Mr. Tassang Wilfred, Barrister Eyambe Elias, Dr. Ojong Okongho and Barrister Nalowa Bih.

Late last night, the Buhari administration auditioned the Ambazonian leadership over the 39 Southern Cameroonians who were arrested alongside Niger Delta militants and the use of Nigerian territory to stage attacks deep inside Cameroon.

President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe provided a detailed plan of action from the Interim Government and informed the DSS authorities that the people of Ambazonia were not waging a war against La Republique du Cameroun.

We gathered that in a soul-searching presentation, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe opined that the Manyu freedom fighters were simply defending themselves following the numerous Cameroon armed forces onslaughts in Southern Cameroons.

The Buhari administration ordered the arrest following the reckless activities of a certain Cho Ayaba and a group of misguided youth who were taken into custody at Taraba in Nigeria. Our correspondent in Abuja hinted that the Ambazonian leadership will be released soonest.

source:www.cameroonintelligencereport.com

A leading member of a separatist movement in Cameroon has been taken into custody in the capital of neighboring Nigeria with his aides, sources and secessionists said on Saturday.

The once-fringe Anglophone movement in majority Francophone Cameroon has gathered pace in the last few months following a military crackdown on protests. It represents the gravest challenge yet to the 35-year rule of President Paul Biya who will seek re-election this year.

Julius Ayuk Tabe, the Nigeria-based chairman of the Governing Council of Ambazonia separatist movement, was taken into custody alongside six others at a hotel in Abuja on Friday, said an official in the west African country and a member of the separatist group in Cameroon.

Bilateral relations have been strained by a separatist movement in Cameroon that has clashed with the Cameroonian army and forced thousands to flee violence by traveling across the border to Nigeria.

Cameroonian troops last month crossed into Nigeria in pursuit of rebels without seeking Nigerian authorization, causing diplomatic wrangling behind the scenes.

Separatists, including armed radical elements, seek an independent state for the nation’s Anglophone regions they call Ambazonia.

A Nigerian official said Tabe and six of his supporters were placed in custody at around 7 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Friday. “They were having a meeting at Nera Hotels in Abuja,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The official did not know who rounded up the separatists.

A member of the separatist group based in Cameroon, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the people were taken into custody.

The separatist group later issued a statement saying that Tabe and six others were taken from Nera Hotels by Cameroonian gunmen in an “illegal abduction.”  We were unable to independently verify the allegation.

The unrest in Cameroon began in November, when English-speaking teachers and lawyers in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon, frustrated with having to work in French, took to the streets calling for reforms and greater autonomy.

French is the official language for most of Cameroon but English is spoken in two regions that border Nigeria.

Protests by separatists prompted a violent crackdown by Cameroon’s military last year in which troops opened fire on demonstrators.

By

Miriam Metchane Ewang

Toyota’s former president Tatsuro Toyoda, who helped the Japanese auto giant establish a foothold in North America, has died at the age of 88, the company said Saturday.

Toyoda, an uncle of current Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, died of pneumonia on December 30, the firm said in a statement.

His funeral has already been held and was attended by close relatives, but Toyota said it plans to hold a separate farewell ceremony.

Toyoda joined the company — founded by his father Kiichiro Toyoda — in 1953 and in 1984 became the first president of a new firm formed by Toyota and General Motors.

The California-based joint venture was part of Toyota’s push to expand production and increase its share in the North American market. The plant produced nearly 8 million vehicles until its closure in 2010, according to the company.

Toyoda served as Toyota president between 1992 and 1995.

(Source: AFP)

The authoritative British non-governmental organization, Intelligence Fusion has revealed that President Biya is not showing any sign of wanting to give up power. In a report published on January 4, Intelligence Fusion analysed the socio-political situation in Cameroon with focus on the next presidential election and traced the origin of the Ambazonia uprising and the response from Mr. Biya observing that it was inadequate to the demands of the people of Southern Cameroons.

“President Biya reacted to the crisis in the worst possible way, without reconciling himself or acting decisively. He did not reassure the English-speaking population, but rather sent the Cameroonian army to occupy the North West and South West regions, “says Intelligence Fusion.

The organization also indicated that Cameroon government forces have committed several acts of violence in Southern Cameroons, forcing people to desert their villages. Intelligence Fusion opined that the killing of some military officers by the Ambazonia Defense Force (ADF) is a consequence of these acts of violence against the civilian population.

Regarding the upcoming presidential election, Intelligence Fusion noted that Paul Biya, “the dictator for life” will be a candidate because “he is showing no sign of wanting to give up”. Intelligence Fusion is convinced that Paul Biya will win the 2018 election, but indicated that Cameroon as a nation will become ungovernable after Paul Biya’s victory.

Intelligence Fusion is based in London. It manages security risks and provides information on terrorist threats. It also monitors and controls the probability and / or impact of unplanned events. Intelligence Fusion was founded by Michael McCabe and Daniel Harrington, all British secret agents. They specialize in the protection of people and property in the UK and in high-risk countries.

By Rita Akana

Uganda’s government has rejected claims by the Israeli regime that it had agreed to take in nearly 40,000 African refugees after Tel Aviv initiated a plan to force them into leaving the occupied territories.

The denial on Thursday came only a day after Israel launched the program to coerce some 38,000 mostly Eritreans and Sudanese refugees to leave without even specifying where they would go.

Israeli activists claim that the Tel Aviv regime has signed agreements with Rwanda and Uganda under which the two impoverished African nations have agreed to accept the departing asylum seekers.

However, Uganda’s Foreign Minister Henry Okello Oryem insisted that his country never entered into such a deal and was disturbed by the reports.

There was no immediate reaction to the Israeli claim from officials in Rwanda.

Under the plan, the Africans have been given until March 31 to leave Israel, each getting a plane ticket as well as $3,500. Those who refuse to leave will face arrest.

“From what we know, Uganda is a party to the amended agreement, allowing that people can be coerced into leaving,” Adi Drori-Avraham from the Israel-based Aid Organization for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (ASSAF) said.

He said Uganda has “for years been denying that it has some kind of deal with Israel,” but such arrangements with African asylum seekers are nothing new.

Source: Presstv

Felix Agbor Nkongho looked over his shoulder at a secluded Yaoundé cafe. As a leader of Cameroon’s growing anglophone rights movement, he had reason to be on his guard. A month previously he had been in prison in the capital, waiting to be tried under the country’s new anti-terrorism laws.

A prominent lawyer and activist, if convicted Agbor Nkongho would have faced the death penalty for his part in organising peaceful protests. The arrest of anglophone activists was part of the Cameroonian government’s attempt to quash discontent emanating from its English-speaking regions.

What began as a simple request for English to be used in the courtrooms and public schools of the country’s two anglophone regions has escalated into a crisis in which dozens of people have died, hundreds have been imprisoned and thousands have escaped across the border to Nigeria.

If the situation is not defused through dialogue, the entire country could be destabilised ahead of elections in the autumn, according to the International Crisis Group.

A number of anglophone activists are calling for secession and the creation of a new country, which they want to call Ambazonia.

“The anglophone crisis is the biggest timebomb in Cameroon,” said Agbor Nkongho, who was released by presidential decree seven months after his arrest. “If it’s not addressed, it could break the country.”

A year ago, after French-speaking staff were appointed to anglophone courts, lawyers in Bamenda, the capital of one of the anglophone regions, took to the streets in protest. They were soon joined by teachers, who said francophones with little English were being hired in their public schools.

“As usual our government, which has no idea how to resolve conflict, turned to repression,” said Ngo Mbe.

After months of bellicose rhetoric, Cameroon’s long-time president, Paul Biya, appeared to hold out something of an olive branch to the anglophone regions in his new year’s address, saying dialogue was the best way of resolving the crisis and promising to decentralise power so that people could manage their own affairs.

However, he added: “All those who have taken up arms, who perpetrate or encourage violence should be fought relentlessly and held accountable for their crimes,” before congratulating the security forces for their “bravery, determination, restraint and professionalism.”

He made no mention of the 40 people killed and 100 injured surrounding the peaceful protests of 1 October, when activists from the Southern Cameroonian United Front symbolically declared the two anglophone regions the independent republic of Ambazonia. The government closed borders to the anglophone regions before deploying the army’s Rapid Intervention Brigade, a unit that is normally found fighting Boko Haram in another of the country’s crises, that of the northern Lake Chad region.

The October crackdown in towns and villages along Cameroon’s border with Nigeria caused at least 7,000 people and possibly as many as 20,000 to flee into Nigeria’s Cross Rivers state, where the UN refugee agency is bracing itself for the arrival of 40,000 more.

“Our fear, however, is that 40,000 people might actually be a conservative figure in a situation where the conflict might continue,” said the agency’s Babar Baloch in a recent briefing.

The latest high-profile figure to be detained, the writer, poet and professor Patrice Nganang, was released last week and repatriated to the US after three weeks behind bars. Police had arrested him at Douala airport shortly after he published an article criticising the government’s handling of the crisis.

Accused of posting a death threat against Biya, Nganang was told he would not get another visa for Cameroon, in effect meaning he would not be allowed to return.

Cameroonian authorities said 10 security officials were killed in November, and announced that four more were killed last week by separatists “using perfidy”.

The UN’s secretary general has called for a halt to the violence and for dialogue, but the opposition accuses 83-year-old Biya, who has been in power since 1982, of not being interested.

In some ways, however, international pressure seems to have had an effect. Two weeks ago Ahmed Abba, a journalist who had been jailed for 10 years for terrorism, had part of his sentence quashed, just as the Commonwealth’s secretary-general, Patricia Scotland, met opposition politicians and representatives of civil society to discuss “moving forward”.

Cameroon has a long history of conquest and subjugation. When the colonial scramble for Africa began, Germany managed to grab what it named Kamerun, but after the first world war the territory was confiscated and the French and British carved it up between them, the French taking the larger part.

At independence in 1961, the UN held a referendum giving anglophone Cameroonians the choice of joining either Nigeria or francophone Cameroon. With no option to become an independent state, they chose their francophone neighbours and together became a federal republic. But the anglophones soon found it was not a marriage of equals.

Talk of an independent Ambazonia has been around since the 1980s but has gained traction in the past few months.

When Agbor Nkongho was released, he found that while he had been in jail the “murderous repression” had led to some anglophone activists on the outside becoming more radical.

Demands for decentralisation of power have been quickly followed by demands for a return to a federal republic, and calls to split from Cameroon. Agbor Nkongho does not think this is a good idea. “We can still live as one; unity in diversity,” he said.

Culled from The Guradian

A US-BASED Zimbabwean woman says she is excited following the release of her Cameroonian husband who was detained for three weeks on charges of threatening to shoot that country’s president.

Early last month, Nyasha Bakare, who was born in Zimbabwe but now lives in the US, led a global campaign to free her husband, Patrice Nganang, who had been arrested at an airport in Yauonde, Cameroon.

A dual US and Cameroonian citizen and a professor at New York’s Stony Brook University, Nganang was arrested when he was about to board a flight to Harare to meet Bakare and their daughter, Nomsa aged eight years for the festive holiday.

Bakare and Nomsa were visiting relatives in Zimbabwe.

Nganang was arrested on 6 December, denied bail and remanded to a maximum security prison on charges that he had threatened to shoot Cameroon president, Paul Biya.

“Patrice faces charges in Cameroon linked to his writings critical of the Cameroonian situation and government.  He was arrested Dec 6, 2017, while embarking on a flight for Harare (Zimbabwe) to join his wife and daughter,” Bakare wrote in an appeal soon after her husband’s arrest.

Her appeal for the release of Nganang immediately attracted global attention and last Thursday a Cameroonian judge was forced to order his release and immediate deportation to the US.

“We are very excited to be reunited and can’t wait,” Bakare wrote after the release of the professor.

Bakare said her husband had been arrested for writing an article for a French magazine criticising Biya’s 35 year-long rule.

Angela Quintal programme coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said international pressure and efforts from supporters played an important role in securing Nganang’s release.

“(It) is a sign that President Paul Biya’s administration has woken up to the fact that violating the right to freedom of expression to silence critical voices, including in the press will not be condoned by freedom-loving Cameroonian citizens, or the international community,” Quintal said.

Bakare and Nomsa have since left Zimbabwe for the US to reunite with Nganang.

Source:New Zimbabwe.Com

Cameroon is among nine countries that can avail of at least $100 million in funding from the United Nations in 2018 for underfunded or “forgotten” emergencies. The funds will come from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), a voluntary fund pool that supports critical relief operations in crises around the world.

During a pledging conference in New York on Dec. 8, UN Secretary General António Guterres said the CERF would allocate $100 million each for nine countries with “underfunded emergencies.” Aside from Cameroon, the other countries are the Philippines, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Mali, Eritrea, Haiti and Pakistan.

Under the grant program, the CERF invites partners to identify projects that could qualify under CERF’s guidelines for underfunded emergencies.

The CERF defines “underfunded emergencies” as crises that cannot be funded sufficiently by governments and appear to have been “forgotten.” While local nongovernment organizations cannot directly receive funds from the CERF, they are encouraged to get involved in the process because they often serve as implementing partners.

The CERF is replenished every year and Guterres said the UN General Assembly passed a resolution in 2016 increasing CERF’s annual funding target from $450 million to $1 billion due to increasing humanitarian needs globally. Protracted crises from long-running conflicts and the impact of natural disasters are likely to continue in 2018, he said, while the impact of climate change was likely to grow and intensify.

In 2017, CERF reached a record high income of $504 million through additional commitments made by donors, according to the United Nations. The fund allocated almost $130 million to help prevent famine in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. The fund also supported relief responses such as those for Palestine refugees in Gaza, for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and those affected by hurricanes “Irma” and “Maria” in the Caribbean. Created in 2005, the CERF is managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Report by the Globalnation. Inquirer