CAF president arrives in Cameroon for Africa Cup of Nations opener

8, January 2022

CAF president arrives in Cameroon for Africa Cup of Nations opener 0

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe arrived in Cameroon’s commercial hub of Douala on Friday ahead of the start of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) championship in the country.

CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba met Motsepe on arrival at the Douala International Airport ahead of Sunday’s start of the tournament.

Omba was accompanied by Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua, governor of the Littoral region of which Douala is the capital as they met Motsepe who was accompanied by his wife.

Motsepe is due to preside over the opening of the football jamboree alongside Cameroonian president Paul Biya at the Olembe Stadium in the capital Yaounde.

Host nation Cameroon will play the opener against Burkina Faso who arrived in the country early this week.

Twenty out of 24 teams to participate in the four-week tournament have already arrived the Central African nation.

Source: Xinhuanet

Africa Cup of Nations: VAR to be used in all 52 AFCON matches

8, January 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: VAR to be used in all 52 AFCON matches 0

All 52 matches of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations which begins on Sunday in Cameroon will have the Video Assistant Referee.

The competition gets underway with hosts Cameroon taking on Burkina Faso at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde.

The final match of the 24-team competition will hold at the same venue on FFebruary 6.

The organisers, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), had previously used VAR from the quarter-finals stage of the 2019 edition in Egypt.

However, CAF has now advanced with a full use of the innovation which gained worldwide recognition by 2018.

It is expected to help improve the image of refereeing and also produce world-class match officials in Africa.

Sixty-three match officials, including women referees Salima Mukasanga (Rwanda), Carine Atemzabong (Cameroon), Fatiha Jermoumi (Morocco) and Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco), have been listed for the matches.

The list consists of 24 referees, 31 assistant referees and eight VARs, all coming from 36 countries.

The roster includes two referees from the CONCACAF as part of an inter-confederation skills exchange programme.

Source: Agency Report

Africa Cup of Nations: How safe are the players amidst Covid 19 and Ambazonia threats ?

8, January 2022

Africa Cup of Nations: How safe are the players amidst Covid 19 and Ambazonia threats ? 0

The African Cup of Nations is expected to start in Cameroon on Sunday, after experiencing two delays due to the lack of proper preparations on the part of the host nation (Cameroon) and the other due to the emergence of Covid 19.

It appears the virus is still causing a lot of destructions as some top players are already reported to have tested positive for the virus. Burkina Faso for instance left three players isolating in Abu Dhabi before arriving in Yaounde to face Cameroon on Sunday.

The rise of cases amongst players and some team officials has raised calls for a need to postpone the 24-team, 52-game championship in the Central African nation. However, organisers are determined to go ahead with the game.

African soccer president Patrice Motsepe promised an “incredible competition,” despite the challenges being envisaged. One of such measures to limit the risk of the speared of infection is that the capacities in the various stadiums have been reduced. Aside this, only fully vaccinated fans with proof of negative virus tests will be allowed to attend games.

That late restriction was brought in to calm the nerves of Cameroon health authorities who feared an omicron super-spreader.

According to a global vaccination tracker from Johns Hopkins University, less than 3% of Cameroon’s population are fully vaccinated. Meaning the vast majority of Cameroonians won’t be allowed entry to see their country’s biggest sports moment if the vaccination rate has not increased by January 09.

Threats

Despite these challenges, there is a full-blown insurrection in the southwestern part of Cameroon, where English-speaking separatists opposing the Francophone government have been fighting to form a breakaway state and have started to use improvised explosive devices.

The threat to the African Cup is real. An explosion at a university near the tournament host city of Limbe and about a mile from what will be an official team-training venue injured 13 people in November. More than 3,000 people have been killed in the violence.

Any health and safety plans in place?

Local officials say there is a possibility of a nighttime curfew and heavy military presence in the region.

The insecurity and the virus have led top European clubs to call into question the health and safety plans and the general wellbeing of their African players.

Defenders of the African Cup say it’s an easy target and the virus is surging in Europe and soccer leagues there are under strain from outbreaks.

“I want to tell you to respect African players, respect the African Cup of Nations, respect African fans,” former Cameroon national team player Geremi said.

Will the tournament hold?

Despite the grumbling from Europe, all indications are that Africa’s best talents will be in Cameroon.

Senegal, with Mane up front, Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy at the back, and top players throughout is one of the favorites to take the title from defending champion Algeria. Salah will captain Egypt, which is African soccer’s most successful team but hasn’t won a continental title since 2010.

Morocco, with a strong defense, was impressive in qualifying. Cameroon’s challenge, as one of African soccer’s trailblazers and a World Cup quarterfinalist 32 years ago, will be to not buckle under the home pressure.

With all the issues arising, both organizers and fans are eager to see witness the beginning and the end of the tournament at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, the capital city.

Source: Africa News

Yaounde: Christians and Muslims pray for peace during Africa Cup of Nations

8, January 2022

Yaounde: Christians and Muslims pray for peace during Africa Cup of Nations 0

Cameroonian officials have joined hundreds of Muslims and Christians in the capital, Yaoundé, to pray for peace during the Africa Football Cup of Nations games.

Cameroon is hosting Africa’s top football championship starting Sunday, including in western regions, where anglophone separatists have vowed to disrupt the games. Police say the rebels set off a bomb Thursday in one of the towns where matches will be held, but nobody was injured.

Imam Souleymane Bouba of Yaoundé’s Tsinga Mosques prays in Arabic for peace in Cameroon. During the prayers Thursday (January 5) Bouba asked God to protect football players, fans and match officials coming to Cameroon for the African Football Cup of Nations which begins on Sunday (January 9).

Among the more than 60 Muslim and Christian clerics present was Jean Mbarga, archbishop of Yaounde. Mbarga says the prayer at the Mary Queen of the Apostles Basilica in Yaounde asked God to intercede for a peaceful AFCON in Cameroon.

Mbarga says he knows Cameroonians love football very much and will be coming out to cheer their team, the Indomitable Lions, and other African teams they cherish. He says the African Football Cup of Nations should therefore mark a new beginning for a peaceful, strong and united Cameroon. He says Muslims and Christians have jointly prayed for the safety of players, match officials and football fans who will be in Cameroon for AFCON.

Mbarga said he and the cleric who attended the prayer strongly believe that because Cameroonians love football, AFCON will remove the country from the agony it has been going through in several troubled spots.

Mbarga said the Cameroon Association for Inter-religious Dialogue organized the prayer. Cameroon Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute represented President Paul Biya at the prayer. The Cameroon Association for Interreligious dialogue said at least 400 civilians, 20 ministers and senior state functionaries attended the prayer.

Cameroon is hosting the continent’s top football tournament from Sunday to February 6.

Separatists fighting to create an independent English-speaking state in the French-speaking majority country have vowed to disrupt the games. On social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, the separatists say they are in ongoing battles with Cameroon government troops. They add that Limbe and Buea are not safe zones.

Limbe and Buea are English-speaking western towns that will host group matches for teams from Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, and Tunisia.

Separatist fighters said Thursday they set off a roadside bomb in Half Mile, a neighborhood in the town of Limbe.

Cameroon military confirmed Thursday’s explosion in Limbe but called it an isolated attempt to scare football fans, players and officials. The government said no one was injured but called on civilians to collaborate with the military by reporting suspected fighters in their communities.

Biya last week called on civilians to use AFCON as an opportunity to turn a new page in the country that has suffered so many crises. The central African state started a military campaign against Boko Haram terrorism on its northern border with Nigeria in 2013.

In 2013, Cameroon said the political turmoil in neighboring Central African Republic was having a spill over on its eastern border with rebel incursions. The Cameroon military has been deployed to the eastern border with CAR since 2013.

The military is also deployed to stop rebels fighting to create an independent state in the central African state’s English-speaking western regions. The United Nations reports that more than 3,300 people have died in the conflict since 2017.

Source: VOA

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Biya regime and the IG have a chance for a ceasefire as AFCON kicks-off

8, January 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Biya regime and the IG have a chance for a ceasefire as AFCON kicks-off 0

With one billion people around the world expected to watch as the African Cup of Nations (CAN) kicks off in Cameroon on 9 January, a spotlight will shine on the country’s five-year-old conflict between the government and Anglophone separatists.

Matches around the country will include eight games in Limbe and Buea, cities in the English-speaking South West region, and Anglophone militias have announced plans to disrupt the Cup, hoping to showcase their grievances. The government has responded with severe restrictions upon movement and association in the Anglophone regions.

This is a lose-lose strategy: separatist attacks during the month-long tournament may diminish the sympathy that Anglophone Cameroonians enjoy in Africa and elsewhere, and the government’s heavy-handed measures could produce popular backlash and escalate the conflict.

A different approach

Instead, both parties should pursue a dramatically different approach: embrace sports diplomacy and cease hostilities for the Cup’s duration. With outside diplomatic support, such a truce could be the first step in rebuilding trust and moving toward talks after years of bloodshed.

Even without the Anglophone militias’ threats, guaranteeing security for the tournament would pose significant challenges for Cameroon. Nine of the country’s ten regions are mired in humanitarian crisis as a result of violent conflict. Jihadist insurgency and climate change-fuelled inter-communal strife between herders and fishermen have destabilised the north, while rebels from the Central African Republic have crossed into the east.

The country’s political situation is also tense, with five senior officials from Francophone opposition leader Maurice Kamto’s party sentenced to seven-year jail terms for holding demonstrations against the president, Paul Biya, in September 2020.

Anglophone conflict ‘poses most serious security problem’

The conflict in the Anglophone regions poses the most serious security problem though. Disturbances began in October 2016, when lawyers and teachers mounted demonstrations calling for a two-state federation to preserve the Anglophone legal and educational systems.

These degenerated into armed conflict following the government’s violent repression, as Anglophones set up separatist militias. Since then, the fighting has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced about one million, ushering in one of the world’s most neglected humanitarian crises amid a deteriorating human rights situation.

Crisis Group and others have repeatedly advocated for talks that might yield a political solution to the conflict. But thus far the government has been unwilling to negotiate in good faith.

It ignored a Swiss dialogue initiative in 2019 that had assembled a dozen separatist groups calling for talks, instead organising its own putative National Dialogue in October of that year. That effort failed to include separatist participation, virtually ensuring it would flop.

As a conciliatory gesture, the government then unilaterally established a special status for the regions, under which it created two regional assemblies with limited powers. This measure fell short of what Anglophones had been demanding and predictably failed to reduce the conflict’s intensity.

Stalemate on both sides

The Anglophone conflict’s escalation in 2021 has not led to a change in either side’s position. Separatists believe they are gaining momentum despite internal divides. The government, for its part, is preparing for a long war, purchasing new military supplies. With neither side clearly ascendant and both reluctant to engage in talks, the conflict has reached a stalemate.

While it would be inconsistent with the separatists’ modus operandi for them to attack venues where the matches are being played, violence could intrude in other ways.

Since 2018, separatist militias have often sought to disrupt sports events in the Anglophone regions:

In January 2021, during another football tournament, the African Nations Championship, militias detonated an explosive device in Limbe, wounding three policemen.

On 21 December, as President Biya met in the capital Yaoundé with Patrick Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football, separatist fighters attacked a police checkpoint in Kumba, in the South West, reportedly killing one officer.

In December, clashes between separatist militias and government forces hit Bamenda, Cameroon’s third-largest city.

Tellingly, when a man dressed as the Africa Cup costumed mascot, Mola the lion, toured the city on 16 December, he wore a bulletproof vest and was surrounded by a heavily armed military escort.

‘Propitious moment to seek a truce’

Despite the challenges, the tournament is a propitious moment to seek a truce, under which the parties would pledge to cease hostilities for at least the duration of the Cup and possibly even create the foundation for a new peacemaking effort.

A major diplomatic push by national and international officials will be crucial in the coming days. International actors will need to urgently press the government to reinvigorate the direct channels it developed in 2020 with influential separatist leaders in jail, perhaps underscoring how much it is in Yaoundé’s interests for the games to come off without a hitch. In parallel, Swiss officials could seek to build support for a truce among separatist leaders living overseas and remobilise UN, U.S., British and Canadian backing for their dialogue initiative.

The benefits of even a brief cessation of hostilities would be significant. It would grant the tournament protection while affording humanitarian agencies a chance to deliver critical aid to the thousands endangered by the fighting. It could also help lay the foundation for much-needed peace negotiations and invite near-term measures by the government that might help bring separatists to the table, like the release of Anglophone prisoners being held for non-violent crimes.

Ideally, the separatists would send positive signals of their own by reiterating their commitment to a political solution and making clear their interest in talks.

Whether any of this progress is achievable right now is unclear. Yet the forthcoming tournament presents a rare and welcome opportunity for bringing some creative sports diplomacy to bear on this often overlooked war.

Culled from The Africa Report

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Explosive device goes off at Half Mile in Limbe

7, January 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Explosive device goes off at Half Mile in Limbe 0

Separatist fighters in Cameroon’s restive English-speaking region of Southwest have set off an improvised explosive device (IED) in the town of Limbe which will host matches of the Africa Cup Nations (AFCON), according to local police.

No one was injured in the explosion which went off early Thursday at Half Mile neighborhood of the city which will host Group F AFCON matches including Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania and Gambia.

Separatist fighters who have vowed to disrupt AFCON in the city said on social media they were responsible for the blast and stressed that it was “a warning sign of what we will do during AFCON”.

Separatist leaders had said they do not want AFCON matches to take place in a region “at war”.

Cameroon army has deployed additional ammunitions and troops to the region who undertake routine day and night patrols.

Separatists had since 2017 been clashing with government forces in Anglophone regions of Southwest and Northwest where they want to create an independent nation they call “Ambazonia”.

AFCON will officially begin on Sunday in the capital Yaounde and will run for four weeks.

Source: Xinhuanet

Yaounde: Long-awaited Africa Cup of Nations to kick off under strict Covid rules

7, January 2022

Yaounde: Long-awaited Africa Cup of Nations to kick off under strict Covid rules 0

Workers are applying final touches to the fan zones in Yaounde ahead of the long-awaited launch this weekend of Africa’s biggest sporting event.

Beset by months of problems and uncertainty, the month-long Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) gets under way on Sunday when host nation Cameroon play Burkina Faso.

Preparations to get the giant screens, shops, restaurants and fan space ready for thousands of supporters in the nation’s capital are definitely in last-minute mode.

“We Cameroonians love to leave everything to the last gasp,” laughs Simon Atangana, a former national player who is part of an organisation setting up the fan zones.

“Everything will of course be ready. AFCON is going to be a huge party, and the pictures will be spread around the world.”

But a familiar foe – coronavirus – is a potential fly in the ointment.

The global pandemic forced the postponement of AFCON from last year, and fears of another delay were eased only last month.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has set down tough rules in a bid to prevent AFCON becoming a super-spreader event.

Those wanting to enter the stadium must be completely vaccinated – in a country where just six percent of the adult population has been jabbed – and show a negative PCR test for the virus that is less than 72 hours old.

Venues have been limited to 60 percent of capacity, although this is being raised to 80 percent when Cameroon’s “Indomitable Lions” take the field.

The rampant spread of the Omicron variant is casting a pall over team lineups.

Gabon’s Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the latest player to test positive and may miss his country’s Group C open match against Comoros on January 10.

“We asked CAF whether we can replace some of our players who got infected with Covid-19 but the answer is no,” said The Gambia’s coach, Tom Saintfiet.

“If this still remains to be the case, it could be a catastrophe… but according to the current rules, we are not allowed to replace anybody in the final list of 28-men squad.”

Waiting for the party

In Yaounde’s Warda Square, hawkers of flags, shirts and vuvuzela horns say they have had a slow start in trade.

“Business hasn’t taken off yet as much as I would like, but I’m optimistic,” said Arnaud Medja, 29, dressed from head to toe in Cameroon’s national colours of green, yellow and red.

“It’s just taking more time than scheduled. It’s just the Covid rules which have come along and put a dampener on things.”

The cup and the tournament’s lion mascot Mola have been going around the streets of Yaounde, backed by dancers and musicians and escorted by motorbike riders bedecked with the flags of all the competing nations.

“AFCON is going to be fun – a party,” said Laurentine, a 33-year-old cosmetics saleswoman.

“It’s going to be great to see the town move and watch everyone get out again.”

Desperate for tickets

On Wednesday, dozens of people lined up outside ticket outlets after AFCON said seats were being put on sale, although they waited in vain.

“I spent all day yesterday queuing. I went to the city hall, to the Ahidjo stadium, and now it’s the Palais des Sports,” said Karine Sunshine, 23.

“But there’s still nothing on sale. I am desperate to see the opening match.

“We’ve been waiting 50 years for this moment – that was the last time AFCON was staged in Cameroon. So I got my vaccinations, and now I am waiting a bit longer, because the Cameroonians are going to win the cup. Just look at the atmosphere there’s going to be this weekend.”

But not everyone seemed to be aware of the tournament’s anti-Covid restrictions – or even to be particularly worried about the virus.

In Yaounde’s central market, hundreds of people, none of them masked, thronged the stalls as Cameroonian and international music blasted from loudspeakers.

“Yes, of course, I will be going to the stadium,” said Abdoulay, a water seller. “You have to get vaccinated (to get in)? Oh, in that case, I won’t go.”

“There’s no corona in Cameroon, and we don’t want the vaccine here. You don’t know what it contains and vaccinated people catch the disease anyway,” he said.

Source: AFP

Indomitable Lions: Coach Conceicao feels weight of expectation

7, January 2022

Indomitable Lions: Coach Conceicao feels weight of expectation 0

Cameroon coach Toni Conceicao admits the weight of public pressure is on him as his side hosts the Africa Cup of Nations, adding that the local fans “don’t forgive failure”.

The Portuguese is looking to lead the Indomitable Lions, who last lifted the trophy in 2017, to their sixth continental crown when the tournament begins on Sunday.

“We know that Cameroonians have high hopes because the competition is taking place here,” he told BBC Sport Africa.

“Since the moment it was decided that Afcon would be hosted in Cameroon, every Cameroonian has felt that this will give them the advantage to win the trophy. But for us football professionals we know it doesn’t work that way.

  • Attendances capped at 60-80% for Afcon

“We feel that people are more demanding of the Indomitable Lions because of their history and what they’ve accomplished in the past: five African titles and the seven times they’ve been present in the World Cup.

“I hope to win because if we don’t reach the objective of at least reaching the final, it’s going to be a difficult journey. We have to be mentally strong so we can at least reach the final.

“If we don’t, it will be difficult for us, the technical staff, to deal with the criticism, because people here don’t forgive failure.”

‘On alert’

Vincent Aboubakar in action for Cameroon
Vincent Aboubakar scored the winner against Egypt when Cameroon last won the Nations Cup, in 2017

Cameroon face Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Cape Verde in Group A and take on the Burkinabe in the tournament’s opening game in Yaoundé on Sunday (16:00 GMT).

Conceicao describes the group as “well-balanced”, but is undertandably wary of the challenges his side will face as they look to reach the knock-out stage.

“We’ve been watching a few of Burkina Faso’s games and they have a good team,” the 60-year-old added.

“Cape Verde have improved greatly and are ever-growing in experience and maturity.

“The opening game, whether it be at the World Cup, a championship in Cameroon or a European Championship, is always difficult.

“From a historic point of view, people think Burkina Faso and Cameroon will get through, but I don’t think like that. I will put my players on alert.”

The 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations is set to end on Sunday 6 February, when Yaoundé hosts a final which many Cameroonians are hoping their team will be part of.

Source: BBC

Biya regime deploys more troops to Southern Cameroons for Africa Cup of Nations

7, January 2022

Biya regime deploys more troops to Southern Cameroons for Africa Cup of Nations 0

Cameroon has deployed troops and armored cars to towns that will be hosting matches of the Africa Football Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in its troubled Southwest region. Cameroon is hosting the continent’s top soccer tournament beginning Sunday, but the region’s anglophone separatists have threatened to disrupt the games.

Residents of Cameroon’s Southwest region towns of Buea and Limbe say in the past two weeks there has been a noticeable increase in troops and military trucks on the streets.

The troubled Southwest region is one area of Cameroon that will be hosting Africa’s top soccer championship, the Africa Football Cup of Nations (AFCON).

21-year-old University of Bueau student Fabrice Tobi says security in the city is becoming watertight.

He spoke to VOA Wednesday via a messaging application.

“I was surprised with the amount{number} of armored cars and the troops entering Buea with the ones that were already there,” said Tobi. “It is very difficult to leave from one area to the other in the city of Buea without meeting military or security men. In markets and even in student residential areas, they are everywhere. They do the controls. It is very difficult for you to leave your house without being checked or controlled.”

Cameroon’s military confirmed that troops have been deployed to Buea and Limbe to protect football players, officials, and fans for the tournament. A spokesman declined to comment on the number of troops and armored vehicles deployed.

The southwestern towns will host group matches for teams from Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, and Tunisia.

Anglophone separatists fighting in Cameroon’s west to break away from the majority French-speaking nation have vowed to disrupt the games.

Within the past two months Buea has reported at least six attacks by separatist fighters.

The rebels took responsibility for November and December bombings at the University of Buea and the town’s Great Soppo Market that wounded at least 14 people.

The governor of Cameroon’s Southwest region, Bernard Okalia Bilai, says civilians should report any rebel suspects hiding in their community.

“We will continue to sensitize the population, particularly towards vigilance. You know what happened in the Great Soppo market,” said Bilai. “It is the population themselves who seized the bag and called gendarmes to come and destroy it. That is the behavior, the action, we are expecting from the population.”

Bilai says residents and visitors should not be afraid of the separatists’ threats.

He says the separatists made similar threats when Limbe and Buea hosted matches of the African Nations Championship a year ago without incident.

Source: VOA

Ambazoniagate:  Profiles of the NERA 10

6, January 2022

Ambazoniagate:  Profiles of the NERA 10 0

1. SISIKU JULIUS AYUKTABE

Vice President, American University of Nigeria; Information Technology Expert

Sisiku Julius AyukTabe was born on the 2nd May 1965 (55 years) in Ewelle village, Eyumojock in Manyu. He is the son of Ayuk Elias and Ojong Paulina (both deceased). He is married with 4 children.

He is the pioneer Chief Information Officer (CIO) and successively Assistant Vice President in-charge of Digital Services and Marketing & Recruitment at the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria. He worked extensively with SONEL (Electricity Distribution Company) in Cameroun where he improved energy efficiency in the Adamaoua Region by 16%, as Regional Delegate. Earlier in his career as the company’s Computer Analyst/programmer, he deployed a Customer-Management application for the company. As an IT expert he voluntarily designed, developed and deployed an application, for the Cameroon GCE Board, for the automation of operations of the General and Commercial Examinations at both the Ordinary and Advanced levels. He also worked with Cisco Systems as the Academy Manager for the 23 countries of West &Central Africa, until he joined the American University of Nigeria. Sisiku Ayuk Tabe is a Motivational Speaker and has spoken at many conferences across the globe. He and his wife Lilian Ayuk Tabe founded the AyukTabeAgborBakia (ATAB) Foundation that empowers the poor in his community in Eyumojock, Manyu County in the Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia). They have developed a 60-hectare farm known as ATAB Farms along the Eyumojock – Ekok road employing 28 workers. On the 29th of September 2017, the workers were driven out of the farm by Cameroun troops. The farm has since been abandoned because those troops still ensure that no one goes anywhere close to it.

Sisiku Julius AyukTabe is also a member of the Adamawa Peacemakers Initiative (API) that supports IDPs in Northern Nigeria. His brainchild Cisco networking Academy at the Budumbura refugee camp in Ghana won the International Academy Awards “Against all Odds”in Europe. He was the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Southern Cameroons Consortium United Front (SCACUF) and was later entrusted with the heavy responsibilities of President of the exiled Interim Government of the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia. He and 11 other leaders of the Southern Cameroons (Ambazonian) were kidnapped in NERA Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria, on the 5th January 2018 by a combined Nigeria/Cameroun military squad. On the 25th January 2018 he and with nine of those leaders were forcibly repatriated under armed military terror to Yaoundé, Cameroun. They were held at SED for 11 months, six of those months incommunicado and later at the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison, Yaoundé, where they are still languishing. On the 10th January 2019, they were arraigned before the Yaoundé Military Tribunal on trumped up charges of so-called secession, terrorism, treason, non-possession of the Cameroun identity card, etc. On the night of the 19th breaking 20th August 2019, Sisiku alongside his nine compatriots were put through the motion of a ‘trial’and nonsensically sentenced to life imprisonment and a fined of $525 million each.

2. Mr NFOR NGALA NFOR

Political scientist and author

Mr Nfor Ngala Nfor was born on December 31, 1952 (68 years) in Kup, Nkambe in Donga Mantung County in what was then the UN Trust Territory of the British Southern Cameroons. He was born into the family of His Royal Highness Ta Nfor Ngala Tarndap (late) and Ma Winto Mbebu.He obtained a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria in 1980. He was employed in the Registry of the University and rose to the rank of Senior Assistant Registrar. In 1986 he resigned and returned to Cameroon. He worked in the Ministry of Territorial Administration until 1992. In 1998 he served as Secretary at the UN Habitat Afrique Conference hosted by A.B.U Zaria.The late Prof Shuetfegua was the Conference Chairman and General Mohammed Buhari (rtd) was Patron.

He was at the launching of the opposition party,the Social Democratic Front (SDF), in Bamenda, Cameroons, on May 26, 1990. He served the party in various capacities including being Chairman of the Constitutional and Political Affairs Committee up to 1999. Thereafter he has dedicated his entire life and service to the pursuit of the restoration of his country, the Southern Cameroons from annexation by the foreign state of French Cameroun. His engagements in this regard have been within the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) of which he was the National Vice Chairman from 2000 to 2014 and then Chairman from 2014 to date. He was the SCNC Representative in the Unrepresented Peoples’ Organisation (UNPO)and served two mandates on the Presidency of the Organisation.

He is author of many educative pamphlets and books on the Southern Cameroons, prominent among which are‘In Chains for my Country’,‘Died not Dead’,‘The two Cameroons: Southern Cameroons for Southern Cameroonians’, and ‘The Southern Cameroons: The Truth of the Matter’. In his service to liberate the Southern Cameroons from annexation and subjugation, he has been arbitrarily arrested, tortured, detained and tried on several occasions. Following the banning of the SCNC in January 2017 alongside the Consortium, he fled to Nigeria where he sought and obtained UNHCR protection as a refugee. He and 11 others were abducted in Abuja Nigeria in January 5, 2018 and 10 of them repatriated to Yaoundé in French Cameroon. After eleven months of solitary confinement at SED, he was transferred to Kondengui Prison. He was arraigned before the Cameroun’s Military Tribunal on 10 January 2019, on charges of ‘terrorism’, ‘secession’, ‘treason’, etc. After a summary pretended ‘trial’ on 20 August 2019, he alongside his nine compatriots were given the pre-determined sentence of life imprisonment and a fine of $525 million. Mr Nfor Ngala Nfor is married and has children.

3. Professor CHEH AUGUSTINE AWASUM

Professor of Surgery, Consultant Surgeon, and Fellow of the Nigerian College of Veterinary Surgeons

Professor Cheh Augustine Awasum was born on 4th May 1968 (52 years) in Bamenda, Mezam County in the Southern Cameroons, into the family of Camillus NdanjiAwasum (late) and Anastasia Ngwe Awasum. In addition to holding a PhD in Surgery on defective kidney ureteral reconstruction by Monti mathematical model (ileoureterplasty), he also holds a Masters in Surgery and, additionally, a Master’s degree in: International Affairs, Diplomacy, Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Curriculum Foundation and Psychology). He holds a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine (DVM). He has taught and graduated over a thousand Doctorates of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), taught and supervised several Masters and PH.Ds in Surgery. He has conducted extensive research in surgery and imaging. Some innovations included the composition of 4 crystallord solutions used in washing harvested organs intended for transplant.

Professor Awasum is a scholar, researcher, and Professor of Surgery in the Department of Veterinary Surgery and Diagnostic Imaging at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Nigeria. He is Head of Surgery Unit of the Department at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of the University. He is the Postgraduate Coordinator of the Department and Member of the University Senate. He is a Fellow of the Nigerian College of Surgeons. In professional practice he rose through the ranks from registrar, Consultant, Senior Consultant to Principal Consultant Surgeon in 2012. He is visiting scholar and chief external examiner to several universities national and international. He is also an instructor in the College of Veterinary Surgeons, Nigeria. He is a member of several departmental, faculty, university and national Research Committees including the World Bank-sponsored research on neglected tropical diseases. He is also member of ABU Animal Use and Care – Ethics, ABU Kidney Transplant Group, HIV/AIDS awareness, Clinical Library Implementation, University Freshmen Orientation, ABU and Veterinary Council of Nigeria Examination Monitoring, African Liaison to the USA based African (Nduaka) Education Initiative (AEI) and Principal Consultant Surgeon to Nigerian Police Security Dogs and, ABU Guard Dogs, Justice.

He has contributed over 110 articles in peer-reviewed journals, conferences proceedings and seminars at both national and international levels. He has co-authored several chapters in books/manuals in surgery. For his achievements in kidney transplants, he received commendations from President Buhari the then Executive Chairman of the Nigerian Petroleum Trust Funds (PTF); General Yakubu Gowon,former Head of State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Also, he was cited in 2002 in WHO-IS-WHO in Veterinary Surgery from across the continents. He is making research breakthroughs in the areas to elucidate animals as the forgotten victims of Boko Haram insurgency. He is a recipient of several awards from Civil Societies, NGOs, and Governments. He is also a community servant especially in the aspects of environmental health, public health, and Philanthropy, Justice, Development and Peace Commission Nigeria, and St Vincent De Paul Society.

 As an activist right from the age of 17, he has been involved in party politics and the struggle for the emancipation of the Southern Cameroons. He has been President and leader of several socio-political and human rights advocacy groups, student unions and civil societies. Alongside 11 others, he was abducted and detained at the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Nigeria, 10 of who were forcibly repatriated to French Cameroun and held in solitary confinement at the infamous gendarme torture known as‘SED’ and on November 22nd, 2018 moved to the equally notorious Kondengui maximum security prison, Yaoundé. On January 10th, he was arraigned before Cameroun’s military tribunal and on 20 August 2021 he, together with the other NERA abductees, were put through the motion of a ‘trial’ and given the pre-determined absurd sentence of life imprisonmentand a fine of$525 million.

Professor Augustine Awasum is a registered asylum seeker with UNHCR in Nigeria. He is married, father of two, and head of the Ndanji Awasum family, a notable of the Nda Community of the Mbatu Kingdom of Mezam County.

4. Dr CORNELIUS NJIKIMBI KWANGA

Economist, banker, and University Senior Lecturer

Dr Cornelius Njikimbi Kwanga is from Bum in Boyo County, of Southern Cameroons/ Ambazonia. He was born on March 22, 1970 (50 years) the 3rd of 10 children of Kwanga Samuel Nkan and Kwanga Priscilla Mbong.

Dr Kwanga is a Researcher and Senior Lecturer of the Department of Economics, Umaru Musa Yar’adua University (UMYU) Katsina. He joined UMYU from Yobe State University (YSU), Damaturu, Yobe State Nigeria. In YSU, he was one-time Acting Head of Department of Economics and later on appointed Coordinator of Research and Innovation (R&I) Unit of the University. He has taught various courses in Economics at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Before engaging in full time lecturing, he was one of the pioneer staff of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Cameroon and served the bank in various capacities. He served Polyclinic Bonanjo as the Human Resources Officer for three years. He is the Founder and Promoter of Global Association for Sustainable Development (GASD), a rural based CSO that fights rural poverty.

Cornelius is an effective coordinator and organizer. He is also an advocate for the restoration of the independence of the former UN Trust Territory of British Southern Cameroons. Apart from being a legal resident in Nigeria, he is also UNHCR registered asylum seeker in Nigeria. On January 5, 2018 Cornelius and 11 others were abducted at gun point from NERA Hotel, Alex Ekwueme Way, Abuja, Nigeria for no crime committed and subsequently 10 of them were forcibly repatriated to French Cameroun on January 25, 2018. On August 20 2019, Cornelius and his nine compatriots were given a pre-determined sentence of imprisonment for life and fined $525 million. Currently, Cornelius and 9 of his compatriots are detained in the Kondenguimaximum security prison in Yaoundé. Dr Kwangais married with 3 children.

5. Dr EGBE OGORK

Civil Engineer, Associate Professor of Structural Engineering

Dr Egbe Ogork was born on March 3, 1964 (56 years) to the family of Pa Samuel Ntui Ogork and Mrs Lucy Ntoh Ogork (both deceased) at Ewelle village, Eyumojock LGA, in Manyu County of the Southern Cameroons.

Dr. Egbe Ogork Ntui is Associate Professor of Structural Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering, Bayero University Kano Nigeria. He has trained and graduated many students at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. He was the Departmental Postgraduate Coordinator for three years before his abduction on January 5, 2018. He has also held other positions in the department and in the Faculty of Engineering. He is a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (MNSE) and also a member of Materials Society of Nigeria (MMSN). He is the President and Patron of many Associations including, the Southern Cameroons Community in Nigeria Kano Chapter. He is also an adviser for Justice and Peace Committee of St. Peter Catholic Church Janguza military Barracks Kano, Nigeria. He is an Advocate for the Self- determination of the Southern Cameroons. Following a pretended trial in the night in French Cameroun’s military tribunal, on August 20 2019, Dr Ogork and his nine compatriots were given the ‘sentence’, pre-determined, oflife imprisonment and fined $525 million.Dr Ogork is married to Chinyere Ogork and they have one child.

6. Dr FIDELIS NDEH-CHE

Electrical/Electronic Engineer, Entrepreneur, Assistant Professor

Dr Ndeh-Che earned his Doctorate Degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering from the City University, London in 1996 when he was 25 years old. In the same year he joined an IT consulting firm in California and worked there for 5 years during which time he was engaged in over 30 projects across the US, Asia and Africa in various capacities as Principal Consultant, Project Manager and Project Director. In 1999, he founded Quanteq Technology Services Ltd and grew it to a leading ICT Consulting and Systems Integration firm in Nigeria with over 150 employees and annual revenue in excess of $3m. In 2012, he joined the American University of Nigeria (AUN) where he served in various capacities, including as Assistant Professor, Program Chair, Chief of Staff to the President, Executive Director Institutional Research and Effectiveness, Executive Manager Projects and Proposals, and Vice Chair Institutional Review Board. At AUN, he taught Undergraduate, Graduate, MBA and PhD courses in computer science, software engineering, information systems and ICT for Development.

Dr.Ndeh-Che was a member of the Adamawa Peace initiative (API) supporting over 270,000 IDPs,displaced by the Boko Haram conflict between 2012 and 2016 through feeding, agriculture, sports, psychological interactions and other intervention programs. He also introduced community intervention programs that impacted the lives of over 15,000beneficiaries in vulnerable and underserved communities in Yola and Jimeta Adamawa state, Nigeria, including JAMB Tutoring, and Adult Literacy. For over 8 years between 2009 and 2018, Dr Ndeh-Che was a member of Board of the Directors of PRAWA, a leading NGO in Nigeria involved in justice sector reform, speeding up access to justice, reducing recidivism and training police and security agencies on Human Rights and torture prevention and redress.

Dr Ndeh-Che is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afrinvest West Africa, a leading financial services firm providing independent financial advisory, wealth management, brokerage and investment banking. He is a registered asylum seeker in Nigeria, with the UNHCR. He was abducted at the Nera Hotel, Alex Ekwueme Way, Abuja, held incommunicado for three weeks at the Nigerian Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and for over six months at French Cameroun’s infamous torture facility known as SED. Following a pretended ‘trial’ conducted summarily under cover of darkness on August 20 2019, he and his nine compatriots were given a predetermined lifesentence and fined $525 million.  Dr Ndeh-Che is 49 years old.

7. Mr TASSANG WILFRED FOMBANG

High School teacher and leading trade unionists in the education sector

Tassang was born on February 2, 1970 (50 years) in Bamenda in the Southern Cameroons to TASSANG Isaiah and Alice AKWI. He is a college teacher and former Executive Secretary General of the Cameroon Teachers’ Trade Union (CATTU). He was also the Programmes Director of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC), aka the Consortium at the time the degeneration of the strikes declared by Common Law Lawyers and Teachers’ Trade Unions. He was the lead negotiator and spokesperson for Anglophone Universities, Secondary and Basic Education, Parents and teachers’ unions (public and private) within the framework of the Education Ad-hoc Committee set up to proffer solutions to problems plaguing the English system of education as raised by the teachers’ unions.

Tassang miraculously survived two assassination attempts on January 13 and 17, 2017. He escaped to Nigeria in February 2017 from where he firmly endorsed the movement for the restoration of the statehood of Southern Cameroons. He was unanimously elected Secretary General of the Southern Cameroons Consortium United Front (SCACUF), and later, Vice Chair of the Southern Cameroons Governing Council. Secretary for Education in the Interim Government, Deacon Tassang was abducted from the NERA Hotel gardens in Abuja Nigeria, on January 5, 2018 and handed over to the Yaoundé junta on January 25, 2018 alongside nine others. He has been charged before Yaoundé’s Military Tribunal for alleged terrorism, secession etc. Following an abusive court hearing that violated all their rights to a fair trial, on August 20 2019, Tassang and his nine compatriots were illegally sentenced to life imprisonment and fined $525 million. Tassang is a registered refugee in Nigeria. He is married with kids.

8. Barrister SHUFAI BLAISE SEVIDZEM BERINYUY

Barrister-at-law, a traditional ruler, human rights activists, and legal adviser to human rights NGOs

His Royal Highness (HRH) Barrister Shufai Blaise Sevidzem BERINYUY is the Traditional Ruler of Mbuh (Baforchu) village and Tobin-Nso Bui County in the Southern Cameroons. He was born on April 25, 1967 (53 years) at Kumbo-Nso to Sebastian LAWONG BERINYUY (deceased) and Benedicta SHIYGHAN BERINYUY.

He is Barrister-at-law,member of the Cameroon Bar Association, and a frontline human rights lawyer. He has been legal adviser to many human rights organisations, including the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Dioceses of Buea and Kumbo, the Human Rights Defense Group (HRDG), Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT), and the Cameroon Association for Rights of the Child (CARC). He is the founder President of Advocates for Human Rights and Environmental Conservation (ADHREC) and Founder of BOD Chair of Berinyuy Women Development Cooperative Society (BERWODEVCOOPS).

Shufai Blaise is a World Basketball Federation (FIBA) Level 2 Basketball Coach and former long serving Vice President of the Buea-based Regional League of Basketballand President of Volcanic Warriors Basketball Club, Buea. In the struggle for the Restoration of Southern Cameroons Statehood,Shufai Blaise has been a household name since 1992 especially in the area of law. Shufai Blaise is a registered refugee in Nigeria. He was abducted along with 11 of his fellow compatriots at NERA Hotel, Alex Ekwueme Way, Abuja on January 5th2018. He was forcibly repatriated to French Cameroun on the 25thJanuary and held incommunicado for seven months before being transferred to the Kondengui maximum security prison in Yaoundé. He was court marshalled before French Cameroun’s Military Tribunal, charged with terrorism, secession, non-possession of French Cameroun Identity Card, treason etc. Following an abusive court hearing that violated all their rights to a fair trial, on August 20 2019, Barrister Shufai Blaise and his nine compatriots were illegally sentenced to life imprisonment and fined $525 million. Barrister ShufaiBalise is a Catholic. He is married to WiybaaNyuydine Jacqueline Banfogha and they have 4 children.

9. Barrister EYAMBE ELIAS EBAI

Barrister-at-law and human rights advocate

Barrister Eyambe Elias Ebai is a Barrister-at-law and member of the Cameroon Bar Association since 1996 with keen interest in human rights advocacy. He was born on June 19, 1969 (51 years) in Manyemen to Nzonguty Joseph (Deceased) and of Nzonguty Ann Babi.

He was the President of the Meme Lawyers Association (MELA), and the Vice Secretary of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (Consortium). Persecuted by the government of French Cameroun for his political opinion in support of self-determination for the people of the Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia), he took refuge in Nigeria in 2017 where he sought and was granted Refugee status by UNHCR in Nigeria. He was the Ambassador to the African Union (AU) of Southern Cameroons Governing Council (SCACUF). He was also appointed Ambassador to the AU and Africa by the exiled Interim Government Southern Cameroons.

He was abducted from NERA Hotel Abuja alongside 11 others on January 5, 2018. Following an abusive court hearing that violated all their rights to a fair trial, on August 20, 2019, he and his nine compatriots were illegally sentenced to life imprisonment and fined $525 million. He is presently languishing in jail in the Kondengui maximum security prison in Yaoundé. He is married with 5 children.

10. Dr HENRY TATA KIMENG

Civil Engineer, Associate Professor, and philanthropist

Dr Henry Tata Kimeng is an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria.

He was born on the 12th of July 1967 (53 years) at Alabukam Mankon to Mrs Agnes GijeKimeng (late) and late Ta Fai Ngakonfor (nee Kimeng Jonas Ndi) who was a sub chief in Mbaa, Nwangri village in Donga/Mantung County inthe Southern Cameroons. He is married to Dr Florence AzieMbuh who holds a PhD in Microbiology from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and Doctor of Medicine (MD) from Windsor University School of Medicine St. Kitts. They are blessed with a 19-year-old son Brian T. Kimeng a final year student in the Department of Architecture ABU, Zaria.

Dr.Kimeng is a scholar and teacher. He has published several papers in local and international journals and conference proceedings. He has also won several prizes and awards for his research work. In 2011, Holcim International Switzerland awarded him and his research team a prize for their research work on recycled agricultural waste for producing particle boards. In 2012, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria recognised him as one of its outstanding researchers in the past 50 years during the Golden Jubilee celebration of the University.As a Consultant Engineer, he has consulted for several organisations and designed and built large buildings, cities and roads all over Nigeria. He has also consulted for National Space Research and Development Agency Abuja Nigeria, Abucons Zaria, and Gamji Nigeria Ltd, among other firms.

As a philanthropist, Dr Kimeng has provided scholarships, financial assistance and help to many students from the Southern Cameroons, Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Liberia and other countries. He also led the campaign in 2017 to create awareness for the Southern Cameroonians who were plundered, robbed and chased from their homeland into exile in neighbouring Nigeria by the brutal French Cameroun regime. He provided financial assistance, accommodation, and food to those he visited in the refugee camps. In 2017 he was nominated the Coordinator of Southern Cameroons Refugees in Nigeria. Together with the Health and Social Services team, he carried out the assignment diligently and faithfully.

He was abducted together with 11 other compatriots from the Southern Cameroonian on January 5th 2018 by a group of armed men at Nera Hotel Abuja Nigeria and detained in a bunker at Defence Information Agency (D.I.A) Abuja. Dr Kimeng and nine others were later forcibly repatriatedFrench Cameroun by night in a military cargo plane and held incommunicado for 6 months without access to sunlight. Following an abusive so-called trial in the night on August 20 2019 in French Cameroun’s Military Tribunal, a ‘trial’ that violated all their rights to a fair trial, Dr Kimeng and his nine compatriots were illegally sentenced to life imprisonment and fined $525 million.

Written by  Professor Carlson Anyangwe

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