8, February 2018

Fake Biya signature is gradually confirming the population’s suspicion ⁰

There have been speculations concerning the whereabouts of Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, who has been missing in action for some time now. But yesterday’s establishment of the constitutional council and the appointment of its members is causing more controversy. Yesterday’s presidential decrees established a constitutional council provided for in the 1996 constitution and appointed members of the said council. 77-year-old Clement Atangana, a legal expert of Beti extraction, who has been on retirement for more than ten years, was appointed as head of the constitutional council, while other very old faces were appointed as members of the same council in the same decree. Members of the council are members of the ruling CPDM and people who are personally loyal to the country’s president and his collaborators.

The appointment of these old and retired Cameroonians underscores the fact that Mr. Biya is not yet ready to give Cameroonian youths a place in today’s Cameroon. Besides marginalizing youths, Mr. Biya is still pursuing his policy of Anglophone marginalization by appointing only Francophones to head major government institutions. It should be underscored at this point that all heads of important structures in Cameroon are Francophones despite the ongoing Anglophone crisis which was triggered by the government’s marginalization of the country’s English-speaking minority.

But this is not what is concerning Southern Cameroonians in particular. Southern Cameroonians are still fighting for their secession and they are hell-bent on quitting a marriage that has brought them more pain than gain. There has been serious fighting in many towns in the Southwest region of the country, with many young men being killed in cold blood by army soldiers. Our sources say some of the young men killed had nothing to do with the rebellion that is unfolding in the English-speaking regions of the country.

It should be recalled that some towns such as Kwakwa in the Southwest region have been erased from the country’s map as army soldiers have burnt all the houses and sent everybody into exile. Currently, Mbonge in the same region is being attacked by army soldiers who are killing and maiming any young men they find in the town.

It is worth pointing out that the greatest concern to many Cameroonians is the whereabouts of their president who has not been seen in public for many weeks. The signatures on the two presidential decrees released yesterday are different and this is causing many Cameroonians to argue that those signatures were forged to give the impression that Mr. Biya who is suspected of either being dead is alive.

Over the last week, there have been rumors that Mr. Biya who is suffering from cancer and a failing heart is gradually heading to his grave. Some sources had even indicated that he had died and that there was commotion among his supporters who are all scared of losing their positions and influence.

A Cameroon Intelligence Report’s source at the Unity Palace, which elected unanimity, had informed our cream of intelligence officers in Yaoundé that everything pointed to the demise of the 85-year-old dictator who has ruled the Central African country for 35 years with an iron fist.

The source added that given the way in which government officials had been visiting the Unity Palace over the last week, it was clear that Mr.Biya was no more. The atmosphere at the presidential palace was tense and government officials had been holding meetings to come up with a common response so as to keep the population in the dark.

Our source added that members of the Cameroon strong man’s entourage were working hard to keep the information from the public place in the pious belief that they could change things to suit their intention.

He stressed that the Secretary General at the presidency had been holding a series of meetings with some of his collaborators who were advising him to issue decrees that would usher in constitutional changes on Mr. Biya’s behalf and the appointment of Clement Atangana is one of the changes the Beti Mafia was advocating.

The calling of senatorial elections next month, our soured added, was one of the moves designed by the Beti Mafia to kick out the current senate president, Marcel Nyat Njifenji, so that it could retain power even after Mr. Biya was dead and gone.

Under the country’s current constitution, the constitutional successor is the president of the senate, Marcel Nyat Njifenji, himself 83 years old and a collapsing figure who has been involved in the corruption and mismanagement that have become the country’s hallmark. Many Cameroonians hold that if the country has to change significantly, figures like the senate president and national assembly speaker have to disappear from the political scene.

By Kingsley Betek with files from Rita Akana in Yaounde

8, February 2018

UN says over 300 child soldiers have been freed in South Sudan ⁰

The United Nations says over 300 child soldiers have been released by armed groups in war-ravaged South Sudan under a scheme to help reintegrate them into society.

According to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), at least 311 children, 87 of them girls, were released by armed groups on Wednesday in Yambio, which is located in the south of the country.

David Shearer, the UN secretary general’s special representative and head of UNMISS, said in a statement that the children would soon begin reintegrating into their communities and learning new skills to support themselves. “This is the first time so many young women have been involved in a release like this in South Sudan,” the statement read.

“They will have endured suffering, including sexual abuse. It is vital that they receive the support they need to rejoin their communities and that they are welcomed home by family and friends without any sense of stigma.”

“Children should not be carrying guns and killing each other. They should be playing, learning, having fun with friends, protected and cherished by the adults around them,” Shearer said.

The integration program in Yambio is aimed at helping 700 child soldiers return to normal life. Of these, 563 are part of President Salva Kiir’s force and 137 are with rebels.

The UN peacekeeping force, acting in unison with the UN children’s agency UNICEF, is negotiating the release of child soldiers in other regions of the country.

“This is a crucial step in achieving our ultimate goal of having all of the thousands of children still in the ranks of armed groups reunited with their families,” said Mahimbo Mdoe, UNICEF’s Representative in South Sudan. “It is the largest release of children in nearly three years and it is vital that negotiations continue so there are many more days like this.”

Women from more than 40 South Sudanese women’s organizations carry placards during a march through the city to express frustration and suffering that women and children face in Juba, South Sudan, December 9, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Civil war broke out in South Sudan in December 2013, just two years after the country became independent, when disagreements between President Kiir and then Vice President Riek Machar turned into an armed conflict between their loyalists. While fighting generally subsided early last year, clashes once again intensified in July 2016.

Tens of thousands of people have died and more than four million people have been driven from their homes, while millions of others are suffering from hunger in a humanitarian crisis expected to worsen as the lean season sets in.

The UN and international rights groups have on numerous occasions accused both Machar’s loyalists and government troops of committing atrocities during their military operations.

Source: Presstv

8, February 2018

OPPOSING CPDM ANONYMOUSLY IS BETRAYAL: From the Sessekou’s Diary ⁰

“The idea of opposing CPDM anonymously or staying indifferent in this struggle is betrayal”

By Sessekou Asu Isong

A friend of mine who is blessed with a finer and richer mind than most of us called yesterday to warn me about the consequences of publicly criticizing Biya’s corrupt regime. He advised that the best way to attack the sleaze and evil in Yaoundé was to do it anonymously. He said the political racketeers that have been in charge of The Cameroons since 1982 have failed miserably but in his monologue he was adamant that anyone who dare criticise the gods in Yaoundé publicly risked being arrested upon arrival at that filthy aerodrome in Douala and refused entry into The Cameroons. As I listened to myman empty his vocal cords, I had to force myself to sustain polite silence. I thanked him after the thirty minutes sermon for his concern and consideration for my wellbeing and promised that I’ll follow his wise words.

Later, I reflected upon the lecture andit appeared to me that his words sadly represent the thoughts of a great many Cameroonians. They are cognizant of the issues that have brought their country to its knees and on the verge of secession and civil war, but afraid to confront it publicly. Why have we as a people been so apathetic to injustice? Why have we been so indifferent in the face of this flagrant abuse of power and subjugation?

As I look back over the last thirty-six years, I can’t find a single noteworthy achievement of this current administration. A country blessed with so many natural resources, great people and brains could do better than it has. Surely!! As a people, we have collectively taken the easy options- emigration, apathy and silence.My good friend advised that God would intervene and perform miracles. Sadly, The Devine hasn’t done that over the last few centuries.

Today, the great nations of the world are nations that haven’t waited for miracles but fought against corruption and suppression. Subsequently, they have established systems that respect the dignity of men, women and the rule of law.Great Britain, France, USA, Germany- where many Cameroonian economic and political migrants now call home, are not enjoying the economic prosperities, respect for law and the reverence of human lives by accident and prayers. At certain times in their histories, they had to fight oppressors, evils and corrupt thuggery. I’m convinced they succeeded because they weren’t afraid to publicly confront the despots of their time.

Over the years, as the kindhearted, peace loving and miracle expectant people have migrated from The Cameroons, the so-called leaders have laughed all the way to the bank. They have looted the state treasury and natural resources with impunity. They have embezzled, misappropriated and thieved at a level our language can’t provide satisfactory adjectives. I hold as true that our collective lackadaisical approach to the big issues that our country has faced over the years is the main reason a cruel few have taken advantage of a kind and generous many.

The good news is; the moment of epiphany has arrived in the consciousness of many Cameroonians especially British Southern Cameroonians who have come to the decision that the illegal occupation of their land must stop. The unconcern showed by many Cameroonians in the diaspora to the criminality that has engulfed their homeland is a worry. The immortal words of the great Martin Luther King Jr should shame us. In 1967 he said “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

Is the answer a nameless and faceless opposition to this regime? That idea, appealing as it seems is not a solution to the issues our nation is facing. By our inactivity and fear of arrests, themobs ruling the nation have audaciously abused their positions. As a nation, we have shamelessly made Biya a demigod. He has succeeded in drilling fear into us in thousands of litres. It’s about time we stop this nonsense.

At a time when the bloodthirsty military of French Cameroun is unleashing barbarism on the defenseless people of British Southern Cameroons by indiscriminate shootings, burning of villages, torture, arrest and detention without trial, we have a collective duty to inform the world of these crimes and oppose them with every energy in us. We have an obligation to do something about it.

This media group, Cameroon Concord News will fight the tyranny and political harassers in Yaoundé with every dollar, dynamism and talent we can muster. We are prepared to be remembered like Steve Biko, Martin Luther King Jr., Martin Luther, Malcolm X. For, these men and countless others, faced evils during their times but they didn’t abdicate responsibility. We shall expose and condemn this criminality until justice is a reality.

We shall not stop until all the political prisoners occupying the dungeons in Yaoundé are free. Until that day, we would be with them in spirit and keep their stories alive in the minds of those who have access to smart phones, computers and the internet. To all the silent voices in all the remote areas of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, our promise to you is simple; your voices will be heard in all the corners of God’s earth. To all those who have lost their lives as a result of the cruelty of fellow men, we hope that as they meet their makers, let the wrath of God be revealed and released from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of these men, who by their unrighteousness are suppressing the truth and committing murder.

The idea of opposing CPDM anonymously or staying indifferent in this struggle is betrayal.We should look at evil in the eye and confront it.A great Greek historian and author who lived circa 460-404bc in the name of Thucydides best put it distinctly in these words “The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage.”These words add springs to our steps. They inspire us with courage and we hope they inspire you too.

This is a Cameroon Concord News Group Editorial Desk Production

8, February 2018

Ambazonia Crisis: The UN Situation Report ⁰

Situational Context

Tensions continue to heighten in southern Cameroon’s English speaking regions following the recent deportation of 47 asylum seekers including leaders of the pro-independence movement by Nigeria. According to the new arrivals, the Government in Yaoundé has also reinforced its military presence with deployment of troops, imposition of curfew and restrictions on travel by Anglophone Cameroonians.

These developments continue to trigger population movements toward Nigeria in search of safety and international protection. Government security forces have been repeatedly accused of killing civilians while the secessionists are also accused of complicity in the deaths of more than 10 security personnel since the unilateral declaration of independence on October 1, 2017.

The interim leadership of the pro-independence group has asked the government of President Paul Biya to allow international human rights organisations access to their leaders and members of their community who were deported to Cameroon by Nigeria to prove that they are still alive. The government said the detainees were currently undergoing interrogation and their lawyers would have access to them after the process.

New Arrivals

More Cameroonians are arriving at Danare in Boki, Cross River State and Gembu, Taraba State. However, some of the new arrivals are reluctant to be interviewed and registered on grounds that they fear being deported to Cameroon by Nigeria. Other asylum seekers already registered are requesting UNHCR to relocate them to a third country for fear of being returned to Cameroon against their will.

The latest batch of arrivals is mainly from Cameroon’s Kwa-Kwa Mbonge Sub Division in the South-Western Region. Residents fled their homes following clashes between security forces and separatists in the area and accused the military of excesses including arson attacks on their homes.

Source: UN

8, February 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Nigerian Senate Summons Defence Minister ⁰

The Minister of Defence, Brigadier–General Mansur Dan–Ali (rtd) has been summoned by the Senate to explain why and how Cameroonian soldiers were able to invade Nigerian territories, arrest and cart away some Nigerians.

In issuing the summons, the upper legislative chamber also urged the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema to “urgently liaise with his Cameroonian counterpart to secure the release of innocent Nigerians arrested by the Cameroon soldiers.

The Parliament also called for increased military presence in the Nigeria-Cameroon border, asking for intensified patrol within the area to prevent further acts of trespass by the Cameroon soldiers into Nigeria.

The resolutions of the Senate followed the debate of a motion titled: “Influx of refugees from the Republic of Cameroon to some border communities in Cross River State and its attendant security fallout” sponsored by Senator John Owan Enoh (APC, Cross River Central) and co-sponsored by Senators Rose Oko (PDP, Cross River North) and Gershom Bassey (PDP, Cross River South), respectively.

Other resolutions by the Senate include calling on Nigeria and Cameroon to strengthen the capacity of Nigeria-Cameroon trans-border security committee aimed at addressing emerging trans-border security issues confronting the two countries and the need for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, UNHCR to intensify ongoing efforts aimed at protecting the Cameroonian refugees and assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement.

Senator Enoh, while leading debate on the motion, alleged that over 80 Cameroonian soldiers with various weapons crossed the international border of the Danare-Daddi/Danre-Bodom axis and abducted five natives.

He lamented: “This is a calculated assault/offence from the Cameroonian military on Nigeria and on outright defiance of Nigeria territorial sovereignty, not minding the consequences of crossing the international boundary to carry out intimidations and harassment on the already alarmed citizens of Danare, with warnings of further assault.”

The Lawmaker also expressed worry that “the current situation being faced by both the refugees and host border communities if not tackled urgently may result in both an outbreak of epidemic and a serious humanitarian crisis and further escalate the already troubling security situation along these borders.”

He noted: “The current agitation for the independence of Southern Cameroon has caused influx of refugees to some border communities in Cross River State and over six thousand of the refugees are currently squatting at Obanliku, Boki, Etung and Ikom local government areas of the state.”

Senator Enoh informed that the UNHCR had on December 17, 2017 biometrically registered 10, 000 arrivals in remote areas of Nigeria’s Cross River State and indicated that thousands more are awaiting registration.

He also expressed concern that “most of the refugees are ill and lack basic needs while some are expectant mothers without medical care.”

In his contribution, Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) noted that invasion by Cameroonian gendarmes to Nigeria was caused by the tension, violence and conflict in the Southern Cameroon.

He, however, stressed the need for the federal government to act fast with a view to protecting the lives and property of Nigerians within the border towns, saying: “Nigeria cannot pretend that there is no problem within our borders.”

Senator Sani, who expressed surprise at the audacity of the Cameroonian soldiers in trespassing to the Nigerian territory, called on the African Union, Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS and other relevant continental bodies to wade into the crisis in Southern Cameroon before it gets worsened.

Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North) in his contribution, said: “Though invasion by the foreigners was bad, he however, cautioned that the National Assembly cannot intervene on the matter “because Cameroon is a sovereign nation”.

Senator Sam Egwu (PDP Ebonyi North) said Nigerian territorial integrity has been violated by the action of gendarmes, and therefore urged the senate to summon the Minister of Defence to interrogation about the activities of the gendarmes in Nigeria.

When the motion was put to voice vote, it was unanimously adopted.

Source: The Independent

7, February 2018

Ambazonia Reboot Conference: The Doubts and the hopes ⁰

Cameroon Concord News Group is concerned that the reboot conference called for Washington DC may already have been infiltrated by agents of French Cameroun intelligence services. Cameroon Concord News Group has no reason to doubt or call to question the patriotism of some of the organizers or participants in the conference. We of this publication are however concerned about the indiscretion of some of the conference organizers and the apparent insensitivity towards the abduction of our leaders assembled in a Nigerian hotel and the consequences towards their freedom, that all our abductees and the total freedom of our Ambazonia homeland. Whether the indiscretion and insensitivity are intended or not, the potential consequences of such conduct may have untold consequences for the Ambazonia revolution.

For example, no reasonable persons are on record as advertising the convening of a conference open to all and sundry, intended to discuss strategy relating to their country at war. They will anticipate that the enemy will infiltrate and gather the intelligence required to subvert their war efforts. Hopefully the conveners of the reboot conference are aware of this.

Cameroon Concord News Group does not make value judgment about whether the said conference is intended for best interest of the Ambazonian revolution. Indeed, Cameroon Concord News Group accuses no one of treachery. Cameroon Concord News Group does not call the patriotism or loyalty to of the conveners to the cause into question. Although planned before the abduction of our President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and members of the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia on 5th January 2018, Cameroon Concord News Group is concerned that coming so soon after the said abduction, the timing of the conference may call its legitimacy into question. Some of the conveners of the conference have been adversely mentioned in the treachery that aided Nigerian and French Cameroons to abduct our leaders in a joint operation supervised by Martin Belinga Eboutou, President Paul Biya’s Director of Cabinet and Babagana Munguno, Buhari’s National Security Adviser.

Cameroon Concord News Group is not suggesting that similar abductions or disappearances of our frontline leaders who convened or are participating in the conference were it to occur, will take place during the conference or on American soil. What is obvious is that some of the participating organizations may already have been infiltrated by La Republique du Cameroun in several ways, known and unknown. This should not be a reason to dispel because the different organizations must have effective and efficient intelligence to confront the enemies on their own terms. Vigilance is however warranted.

Whether these organizations and their leaders are aware of the infiltration is not known; indeed, some of them may not be aware of this fact even when there are clear indicators within their reach. It may not be lost on them that they may consciously or unconsciously allow French Cameroun by proxy into the conference. The intrusion of French Cameroun might have commenced right from the moment of conception, planning and the holding of the conference.

Cameroon Concord News Group is aware that what united the organizers of the reboot conference when the idea was first conceived was their opposition to the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. It was a false premise motivated by the search for power. It was not an honourable premise to seek a united front to prosecute the Ambazonia liberation agenda. Today the conveners are ideologically, strategically and tactically far apart and a single reboot conference may not bridge the ideological, strategic and tactical gap between them. What unites them as they attend the conference, is the common desire to mobilize Ambazonians to contribute generously towards the realization of the liberation and defense objectives of each organization. That goal can be better attained by reaching out and working with the Interim Government. Without the interim government on board, the objectives no matter how laudable will not be entirely successful. If the liberation of the President, members of the Interim Government, all abductees or disappeared Ambazonians held in captivity by French Cameroun is placed on top of the agenda of the conference, it may attain the highly required legitimacy to rally many Ambazonians around the liberation goals which the Interim Government and a majority of Ambazonians stand for. This regrettably so far seems not to be the prospective focus of the conference. In the result, the conference may come out with resolutions and structures that will not resonate with a majority of Ambazonians.

Again, Cameroon Concord News Group is of the considered opinion that serious and reasonable organizations do not summon conferences with high possibilities of infiltration to discuss strategy about the defense objectives of their countries at war. If they are under the illusion that they can discuss strategic matters of such sensitive nature in the reboot conference with the significant possibility of French Cameroun’s agents in attendance, then they must be mistaken.

The conference will surely lay an elaborate mechanism for Ambazonians to fund the war of liberation through structures which they will put in place. But the unintended consequences of the conference may occur weeks or months after the conference. If care is not taken, these unintended consequences may outweigh the gains obtained at the conference. The elaborate strategies for the defence of the home land that will be discussed at the conference will almost immediately be betrayed to French Cameroun intelligence operating from its Embassies in Washington DC and in New York. From then some of our over confident but unsuspecting leaders will be approached by all manner of persons and organizations with promises to assist them realize our defence needs and objectives. An uncritical acceptance of such assistance or endeavour may be very costly.

We learn from Mbah John Akuro who did not attend the meeting in Nigeria when our leaders were abducted that French Cameroun and their corrupt collaborators within the Nigerian Government played on the consistent request of our President and the Interim Government for an inclusive dialogue as opposed to war to resolve the conflict. All-inclusive dialogue which our President and the interim government endorsed, we all know, is the stated position of the United Nations, The African Union, The Commonwealth, The United States of America, Great Britain, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, France and most of international organizations. Our Interim Government endorsed this all-inclusive dialogue option over armed conflict. This position which is favoured by the international community and our interim government has been clearly endorsed by most of our people. This stated position of our interim government was rejected by French Cameroun on the one part and some of our constituent organizations participating in the reboot conference. To the extent that French Cameroun opted for war and indeed declared it; a number of our liberation organizations saw no need to claim an elusive all-inclusive dialogue while our people are systematically slaughtered in their thousands in their ancestral homes by French Cameroun’s terrorist regime. They opted for self-defense, an option the interim government did not rule out but was slow to adopt. The interim President stated this in his end of year address to Ambazonians and the communication secretary Chris Anu re-emphasized this in his follow-up comments after the President’s widely received and applauded speech.

John Mbah Akuro did not attend the meeting in Abuja Nigeria in which the President and members of the interim government were abducted. He was not invited but somehow knew that the objective of the meeting was not to discuss assistance to our refugees in Nigeria. According to his recorded and widely publicized audio address to Ambazonians, all and sundry, he said that the alleged conference was convened to commence preliminary discussions on the all-inclusive dialogue proposed by the international community and endorsed by the Interim Government. How he knew about this is not the subject of our enquiry now.

The information is important for two reasons. Nigeria to whom the Interim Government made several entreaties to act as a mediator and to host the all inclusive dialogue proposed by the international community, upon receiving huge bribes from French Cameroun, abused the confidence placed on the Federal Government by the Interim Government by using the all-inclusive dialogue to lure and entrap the President and members of the interim government to be abducted by a combined force of Nigerian national intelligence operatives and French Cameroun’s special operations operatives. Nigeria provided operatives of French Cameroun’s special operation forces uniforms of Nigerian national intelligence operatives for the special criminal operation.

Our investigators in Abuja serving with Cameroon Intelligence Report have obtained credible intelligence reports from inside the National Security Adviser’s services who participated in the operation. According our intelligence sources whose have opted for anonymity to protect their identities, Martin Belinga Eboutou bankrolled and oversaw the operations in Nigeria on behalf of French Cameroun while Babagana Mungano the National Security Adviser to Buhari oversaw the operation on behalf of President Buhari and his Vice President Professor Yemi Osibanjo. The captives were transported to French Cameroun the same day, after the option to execute them was scuttled by the alarm raised by Millan Atam twenty-four hours after the abduction. Although Millan Atam who was supposed to participated in the conference failed to participate ostensibly for yet controversial reasons. He has so far not made a statement about the purpose of the meeting. Cameroon Concord News Group investigators have obtained information from sources close to the National Security Adviser’s services in Nigeria corroborated by other Nigerian and French Cameroun intelligence services about some details of the criminal operation. At some point in time, Nigeria gave clear indications, that it could play a mediating role in the conflict, urged on by key international organizations and reached out to French Cameroun to convey its availability in doing so. While some members of the Nigerian diplomatic community were warm about this option and were preparing for it, through the influence of the French mission in Abuja and technical intelligence tending to show strong international support for such an initiative, French Cameroun opted to scuttle the international effort by corrupting the close circle of power around President Buhari, including the Vice President Yemi Osibanjo who influenced Buhari to go ahead and sabotage the mediation option through an abduction.

A plan was therefore conceived and put in place for President Buhari and Vice President Osinbanjo to abuse the faith placed in Nigeria to mediate in African conflicts for pecuniary reasons. The amount of the money offered them was such that they could not resist the humiliating bait at the cost of the honour and dignity of Nigeria whom they represent. With the evidence of the criminal operation coming out to the public domain, and the possibility of an investigation in Nigeria and internationally after Buhari leaves office, it is increasingly obvious that Nigeria must do so much hence to be trusted as a credible player in the mediation of African disputes.

Cameroon Concord News Group having corroborated in part, the narrative provided by John Mbah Akuro, is conscious of the fact that John Mbah Akuro is one of the organizers of the reboot conference. He has publicly stated that he will not be attending the conference because he is fleeing for his dear life and may have left Nigeria. It should concern other organizers and attendees that one of the proponents and organizers of the reboot conference will not be attending due to security challenges that he is facing prospectively from French Cameroun and its Nigerian partners. He should provide his reboot colleagues with intelligence relating to the forces deployed by the enemy to go after him and the reasons why.

The reason for revisiting the abduction of the President and members of the interim government is to explain to the reboot conference organizers and members of the constituent organizations to be careful of persons or organizations coming to them proposing to help realize their objectives. If the peace option that was genuinely proposed and pushed by the international community hoping Nigeria will play a mediating role can be manipulated to abduct the President and members of the interim government, the armed option that some have been forced by necessity and self defence needs of our people to embrace, can equally be manipulated to abduct or harm leaders of the organizations that are firmly committed to that option. French Cameroun indeed used the same strategy under different circumstances to drug and abduct Captain Guerandi Mbara with the complicity and treachery of some of his own people he hoped to liberate, and he disappeared ever since.

French Cameroon special intelligence bankrolled and overseen by Martin Belinga aided by the French Cameroons conventional intelligence units under Eko Eko the director general of the external research directorate and husband of the President of the Military Court-martial trying our abductees will send out paid agents from all sorts of organizations to reach out to some of the leaders of the composing organizations who if care is not taken, may end up the way Captain Guerandi Mbara ended. The defence of our homeland is a task that must be done. Cameroon Concord News Group supports collective efforts towards the realization of that sacred objective. The reboot conference organizers should as a matter of extreme urgency meet with the Acting President and the interim government to discuss better ways of attaining the unity required to mobilize all Ambazonians home and abroad towards the realization of our self-defence objectives and the total freedom of our fatherland. The freedom of our President, members of the interim government, Mancho Bibixy and thousands of our abductees and the total liberation our free Ambazonia homeland must be attained at all costs.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman, Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

7, February 2018

Ambazonia Crisis: Hundreds Flee Bamenda County to Mbouda Amid Violence ⁰

Hundreds of people are fleeing Cameroon’s English-speaking towns following clashes between the military and gunmen believed to be armed separatists.
A dozen vehicles transporting at least 220 people from Cameroon’s English-speaking Northwest region arrived in the French-speaking town of Mbouda Tuesday morning.

Among them is Donatien Fotso, a 55-year-old businessman. He says he, his wife and four children fled the town of Bamenda, after three consecutive days of heavy gunfire between the military and armed separatists.

He says Cameroon military has been invading their neighborhoods, shooting indiscriminately and arresting and torturing citizens. He says the torture and the killing inflicted on them has made the people so frightened that when they see a military vehicle, they start escaping.

Christopher Mbaingong, a 27-year-old farmer, says he left his village on the outskirts of Njinikom before the deadline because he had anticipated there would be bloody conflicts triggered by the heavy deployment of Cameroon’s military to English speaking towns and villages.

“I was afraid. I did not know what was actually the problem since we have a military that can not communicate,” he said. “The next day they should have told us what was happening, the gunshots was this or was that. So even today, I am afraid. I do not know what is going wrong.”

The tensions began mounting when Cameroon announced that separatist leader Ayuk Tabe Julius and 36 of his supporters had been arrested in Nigeria and transferred to Cameroon. They have not been seen in public since then, fueling speculation that they may have been killed.

Cameroon government spokesperson Issa Tchiroma said in a statement that all 37 are still alive, but the announcement did not calm their angry supporters.

Cameroon says seven villages have been burned and at least 20 people, including soldiers and separatists have been killed in the ongoing violence.

The unrest in Cameroon began in November 2016, when English-speaking teachers and lawyers in the Northwest and Southwest regions, frustrated with having to work in French, took to the streets calling for reforms and greater autonomy.

The situation degenerated with separatist calls for independence and the rise of an armed separatist movement, prompting a crackdown of the military.

Source: VOA

7, February 2018

Kenya deports opposition firebrand ⁰

An outspoken member of Kenya’s opposition accused of treason for taking part in a mock swearing-in of opposition leader Raila Odinga was deported to Canada late Tuesday.

The move came in defiance of a High Court order that he be presented before a judge on Wednesday.

Miguna Miguna, a provocative firebrand and member of the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition, was forced onto an international flight on Tuesday night.

“Miguna denounced his Kenyan citizenship years back, acquired Canadian citizenship and never bothered to reclaim Kenyan citizenship in the legally prescribed manner neither did he disclose that he had another country’s citizenship despite being a lawyer who should have known better,” said Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka in a tweet Wednesday.

Holding dual citizenship is legal in Kenya, and in August, Miguna ran for political office, with proof of Kenyan citizenship, a key criteria for all candidates.

Miguna was put on a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight to Toronto via Amsterdam, a security officer at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport said.

“He was driven in by heavily armed police officers who forced him into a flight to Canada. All deportation procedures have been followed,” the officer said.

Miguna’s lawyer, Nelson Havi, confirmed his client had been “forced into a KLM flight for ‘deportation’ to Canada. Now, how do you deport a Kenyan?” he asked.

On January 30, Miguna played a prominent role in Odinga’s mock inauguration and three days later was arrested in a dawn raid on his Nairobi home.

Lawyers Tom “T.J.” Kajwang (C) and Miguna Miguna, (C-R) attend a mock “swearing-in” ceremony for opposition leader Raila Odinga at Uhuru Park in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, January 30, 2018. (Photo by AP)

Since then, there has been much speculation about his whereabouts and his treatment by authorities.

Police and government officials defied two court orders to produce Miguna before a High Court judge earlier this week, instead taking him to a minor court in a small town 80 kilometers to the south on Tuesday.

There, Miguna refused to plea to charges of treason and unlawful assembly.

A subsequent High Court order demanded Miguna be presented for release on Wednesday morning, but his deportation means that order too has been ignored.

High Court judge Luka Kimaru has warned Kenya’s Inspector General of Police and Director of Criminal Investigations that they may be charged with contempt.

Miguna holds no elected office, but has styled himself “general” of the opposition’s “National Resistance Movement” (NRM) wing, in charge of implementing a threatened program of civil disobedience and boycotts.

Following Odinga’s pretend inauguration last week, Kenya’s government designated the NRM as an “organized criminal group.”

Miguna’s enforced exile is the latest twist in the long saga of Kenya’s disputed elections, which saw the Supreme Court annul the result of the initial August 2017 poll and Odinga boycott the October rerun, handing victory to President Uhuru Kenyatta.

However, Odinga continues to insist he was the real winner and therefore the legitimate president of Kenya.

(Source: AFP)

7, February 2018

Political fate of South African president in limbo ⁰

South Africa’s ruling party has postponed a top-level meeting that was expected to decide about scandal-hit President Jacob Zuma’s political future, as rumors emerge that it has reached a deal with Zuma to step down.

The African National Congress (ANC) had scheduled an urgent meeting of its national executives for Wednesday evening to discuss Zuma’s future but suddenly moved it to February 17.

Instead, it released a statement late on Tuesday, saying Zuma and ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa had held “fruitful and constructive discussions” in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Deputy President of South Africa and elected African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa (photo by AFP)

Zuma, whose tenure officially runs until mid-2019, has come under pressure to leave office over corruption allegations. He was replaced as leader of the ANC by Ramaphosa in December last year.

The party’s secretary general, Ace Magashule, said the meeting’s postponement, as well as the postponement of a state of the nation address that Zuma had been scheduled to deliver on Thursday, would give them a “further chance to talk.”

Ramaphosa will give details on Zuma’s fate later in the day, according to parliament speaker Baleka Mbete. “In this day, there will be some progress, which the president of the ANC will be ready to come back to us about,” Mbete said.

Zuma’s spokesman has declined to comment.

The supporters of the African National Congress Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa protest against President Jacob Zuma in Johannesburg, February 5, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

Meanwhile, South African website Times Live has quoted unnamed sources as saying that Zuma has agreed to quit if the certain terms can be negotiated for his departure.

Opposition parties are demanding that a vote of no-confidence be held to remove the president.

Zuma engineered the ouster of former president Thabo Mbeki in 2008 shortly after he was elected leader of the ANC.

The ruling party lost ground to opposition groups, the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters, in the 2016 local elections. Many within the party now want the 75-year-old president to go as soon as possible so they can rebuild the party’s standing following the corruption allegations, which have provided political fodder for the opposition.

Zuma is accused of having links to the wealthy India-born Gupta family, who are alleged to have influenced his government. Zuma and the Guptas, however, deny the allegations.

Source: Presstv

7, February 2018

Ambazoniagate: African Bar Association says there are speculations that the abductees are still being held by the Nigerian government at the behest of the Biya dictatorship ⁰

The African Bar Association (AFBA) has accused Nigeria of detaining some Cameroonian refugees without trial. The association stated this in its resolution in Calabar.

It said: “The abduction and continued illegal detention of Mr. Julius Ayuk Tabe and other Cameroonian refugees by the Nigerian security agents and their counterparts in Cameroon was wrong.”

“More worrisome is that some of the abductees are practicing lawyers and members of the AFBA.

The statement added: “Despite our demands for explanation and the immediate release of these individuals, the circumstances surrounding their arrest and their whereabouts remains unknown. This has led to several speculations.

“We have received reports that these persons have either been transferred or extradited to Cameroon or secretly executed.

“The reports added that some are still languishing in the custody of the government of Cameroon awaiting trial in a military court.

“There are also speculations that the abductees are still being held by the Nigerian government at the behest of the Cameroon dictatorship.”

The association stressed that the abduction of these individuals and their detention in an undisclosed location is a “grave and violent violations of international laws, for which there are consequences for those responsible.”

The statement noted that the detention without charges or due process of law is a breach of the African Charter on Human Peoples Rights, the Charter of the United Nations and the constitutions of Nigeria and Cameroon.

Source: The Guardian