My Fellow Citizens of Amabazonia,

I bring you revolutionary greeting from your President SisikuAyuk Tabe and the rest of the team in jail with him. If you read his recent interview with Emergence, you will notice that their fighting spirit remains unsurpassed. They are resolute.Their resolve to fight for a free and prosperous Ambazonia has never wavered. It remains unshakable.

On behalf of the Interim Government, I want to thank all of you who continue to stand by them in their tribulations under captivity by the enemy. They suffer vicariously on our behalf for what we stand for – the freedom of Ambazonia that must come.

I want to extend special thanks to the dedicated and tireless ones on ground zero who visit and support them in every way possible. You constitute a strong link in the unbreakable chain of Ambazonian heroes in our liberation struggle.

Let me also single out for high commendation our selfless, brave, resourceful and ingenuous liberation fighters who continue to demonstrate togetherness and patriotism in resisting the atrocious invading colonial enemy.

We must keep on fighting until freedom is achieved. The alternative of not doing so is too ghastly to contemplate. Our fate would be worse than that of slaves without dignity and identity. We would be slaughtered en masse like sheep to the slaughterhouse. The genocide agenda of the blood-thirsty enemy would be accelerated, and we would be exterminated within a short time. We and our children would be wiped out. The children of our children would be wiped out. And their children’s children would also be wiped out. The people of Ambazonia will ceased to exist. The land of Ambazonia would be stolen by the enemy.

Tonight, I come to share some reflections with you; first, I make a passing reflection on evil that has inevitably fallen, and secondly,I talk about what I believe we need to do to build better, moving forward.

Comrade Ayuk Tabe and his leadership team foresightedly put in place a resource-generating system. The purpose of the system was to provide the wherewithal for our Liberation Struggle to enable us achieve freedom without further delay. Funds generated from the system began to flow in. But a horde of rapacious evil ones laid their leprous hands on the finances. Many of the individuals concerned were simply vagrants and scroungers masquerading as so-called ‘pastors’ – self-designated briefcase fly-by-night ‘pastors.’ They embezzled the funds for their personal upkeep. They swindled the money for their gluttonous conspicuous consumption. They used part of the stolen money to sponsor the assassination of freedom fighters on the ground.

Like the devil who can also quote the Bible, they quoted books, chapters and verses from the Bible impiously fooling vulnerable and impressionable individuals. They started their evil mandates with prayers and fasting to seduce our people that are too religious to a fault, and were not smart enough to notice that they were simply displaying the hallmarks of bible carrying conmen. Today, the scales have fallen from the eyes of most of these unfortunate people and they now know better. In fact, we all now know how the thieves and their accomplices ran their criminal networks. We also now know roughly the amount of the liberation funds that were swindled and used for other criminal activities.

President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe foresaw this calamitous turn of events. That is why he reinstated the IG cabinet and other structures that existed before the NERA 10 incident. He presciently reduced to a counterfeit ‘IG’ the rump of what still advertised itself as ‘the IG’. Some of us naively doubted the wisdom of President Sisiku’s timely action. But today he has been vindicated. Everyone now acknowledges that he took a wise decision warranted by the circumstances. Imagine what would have become of our national liberation struggle today had he not taken that wise decision.

The criminality of wolfs in sheep skin masquerading as fellow comrades in our liberation struggle is now in the public domain. It has been put out by these same people, those among them who have seemingly undergone a road-to-Damascus conversion. Despite the fact that blatant truths about the true nature of these vampires are all out there for even the blind to see, they still shamelessly try to tell more lies in their woes to defend their past falsehood and wistfulness to keep a few gullible Ambazonans still in their nest in servitude.     

Truth always triumphs. Like President Sisiku said, “one day the truth will come out and we shall be vindicated.” The same is true of the law. The wheel of justice turns slowly but surely. The long and strong arm of the law will certainly catch up with the principal offenders and their accomplices who have caused so much pain and suffering to our people in this our God-ordained national liberations struggle.

In the past three years we lost solidarity as our common interest. Today, we cannot run business as usual in very unusual times. We need to be bold and boldly face the evil within our liberation struggle. We cannot afford to be gentle with evil and indiscipline among our ranks. Nothing can be achieved in chaos. Nothing can be achieved without serious and purposeful thinking, creativity, hard work, and collective endeavours for the common good.

We must allow ourselves to think beyond the ills that have afflicted us. We must do so because solidarity is critical in the promotion of our common interest. ‘Building Back Better’ will not do the trick. We cannot afford to go back to a situation that is unsustainable.

What commends itself to us now is ‘Building Better, Forward,’ that is to say, building better as we move forward. We must seize the opportunity of the moment to make critical improvements that will address challenges of the hour as well as address clearly foreseeable challenges that are bound to arise as from the Day of Liberation.

This is what ‘Building Better Forward’ entails:

1. Rebuilding, remobilising, and restructuring constituencies globally from grassroots up so as to improve human and financial capacity.  This will build synergy within us. It will make our revolution shock proof and flexible to weather different storms as soon as they are identified. I believe that the best way to concentrate power within our communities is through Grassroot Remobilization & Regrouping. This means each and every one of our citizens, every one of our cultural and development meetings, every one of our churches at home and abroad, and each and every one of our constituencies around the world, must participate in our liberation struggle, each one contributing to their ability and willing level of sacrifice.
2. Focusing on our liberation fighters on Ground zero. This is critical because we are condemned to liberate ourselves, like all colonized peoples in Africa did. In this connection, we will continue to build a unified defence platform for our liberation fighters. We all applaud the lead taken by Bui, Momo and Bali. Same efforts to unite our Liberation fighters on Ground Zero are ongoing in Fako, Meme, Manyu, Donga Mantung and Boyo as we speak. We will replicate these examples in all areas of Ambazonia. A unified defence platform will empower our GZ freedom fighters through effective training and provisioning. This will sharpen and increase their fighting capability. It will make them responsible in the battlefield. It will engender shared-leadership, complementarity, and ensure fighters fight for each other rather than against one another. It will instil in them loyalty to the nation represented by our national flag rather than to individuals. It will redirect them to fight for the people of Ambazonia as a whole rather than for the interest of puppeteers. The cooperation between our Ambazonian self-defence forces and local communities is vital for our success. This is a winning strategy that will improve conduct on GZ and end the crime of kidnapping for ransom which some have desperately sought to dignify by attempting to whitewash it and launder the proceeds thereof as so-called ‘liberation tax.’  It will also stop the shameful, distasteful, outrageous, and unacceptable attacks on Ambazonia schools like what we witnessed on 10th February 2022,  when unidentified armed men raided Queen of the Rosary High School (QRHS), Okoyong, in Manyu County. The assailants set fire on dormitories and administrative buildings while students were asleep. With strongly bonded self-defense units in Ambazonia, the military of Paul Biya’s junta will not easily infiltrate and penetrate our communities to foster their genocidal actions on our people and institutions by using pseudo names. Recently, Paul Biya’s militia used a pseudo like “ARF-Black Lions of Manyu” which does not exist in Manyu self-defense to burndown QRC Okoyong. They used pseudo like “armed robbers” to assassinate the unapologetic defender of justice like Senator Barrister Henry Kemende(May his Soul Rest in Power) as well as to cover up their evil acts of genocide.

• Recognizing that resilience and transformative knowledge are keys to our fight for liberation, knowledge we know is an enabler for growth in a more sustainable way. This allows us to willingly use our competencies and huge potential as a collective in our advocacy, communication and in improving the innovative and technical capacity, strategies, and tactics of our liberation fighters on the ground.
• Participating in growing and consolidating the portfolio of the Bank of Ambazonia, our prestigious institution. Many were genuinely concerned about funds being mismanaged and decided to withhold contributing to the Bank. I urge them to get back onboard. A few people sponsored the external Audit of My trip to Buea which the American Authorities now have and we are waiting for justice to take its course and to be done.

The Bank of Ambazonia is duly registered in the United States with a Representative Board of Directors to ensure responsibility, accountability and transparency. Any and all funds in the Bank are, and will continue to be, responsibly spent and every dime accounted for. Diaspora Ambazonians now have no credible excuse for not resuming payment of citizens’ levy.I urge them to pay that levy, buy the Ambazonian freedom bonds, buy the big rubber gun bonds, and create njangi groups to help provide a level of humanitarian assistance to Ambazonians desperately in need.

• Improving on the way we communicate within and without. We can connect and relate better through better and responsible communication. We need to build strong communication channels to reach out to our people on Ground Zero, Ground One and the world at large. This will help us manage and share information better and responsibly. Southern Cameroons Broadcasting Corporation (SCBC) is a huge symbol of our liberation struggle. We cannot let it down for any reason possible. I want to thank the Board, the team in Germany and some of us who kept it running during these difficult times. It is our duty to maintain it as another of our prestigious institution. I call on the board to continue to be innovative, improve on the content, open up to willing Ambazonians with competencies to make it one of Africa’s best and bring back shows like the Gilly Gilly show which was one of the hallmarks of SCBC.

• Being open and willing to work with other stakeholders in our liberation struggle,those who fight proactively for a free Ambazonia. This demands on our part discipline, honesty, humility, integrity, respect, tolerance, truthfulness, resilience, and above all, putting Ambazonia first and foremost.

 My fellow Ambazonians, as you will recall, when I was called to take up this responsibility, in my acceptance speech I said, “Our Liberation struggle is less about me and more about you. We are in this together. Ambazonia must be first.” Your Interim Government always puts Ambazonia first in all it does as these few examples show.

1.We provided support for all legal representation in Ambazonia, Nigeria and French Cameroun since November 2018 to date.

2. More than 70% of the welfare of comrades behind bars have been coordinated by the IG.

3. We engaged in diplomatic outreach with the Swiss Federal Government, UN Department of Political Affairs, and CDN; we have initiated engagement with some countries details about which must continue to be classified.

4. We refocused the attitude of our GZ liberation fighters to defend and fight for the flag and truly lead responsibly as all for one, one for all on GZ.

5. We have sought to partner with other groups within the revolution.

6.  We created the Bank of Ambazonia, a semi-autonomous institution, to handle the resources of our people in a transparent, responsible, and accountable manner. 

7. The first phase of the big rubber gun project went into operation. We are all witnesses to the tactical changes on GZ which reduced the rate of killings of our liberation fighters and inflicted heavy casualties on the invading colonial enemy.

8. A complete external audit of the MTTB funds has been done and submitted to the American authorities.

Together we can do more. Together we can build better, moving forward.

Those who fell by the wayside but have now picked themselves up, pleaded mea culpa and committed to good faith and honourable engagement in the struggle from henceforth are most welcome to join the ranks of worthy Ambazonians daily, fighting tooth and nail to free our Homeland from genocide, plunder and destruction by French Cameroun. We cannot afford to allow con pastors, embezzlers, dubious bitcoin merchants, killers of the same fighters they claimed are theirs, and kidnappers of our people for ransom, who have failed in their mission to set us apart, frustrate our quest for total independence, and eventually hand us over to LRC to rejuvenate and raise their evil heads again against us. This is the right time to close any loopholes, keep vampires flooding around as men of God in our God’s ordained struggle under control, and completely revitalize the struggle by Regrouping, Remobilizing, and Building better as the best way forward.  Let us work together and build better, forward. Fighting to free our nation is a singular honour, a privilege and an exalting task that must be done earnestly by ALL of us that stand for nothing but the flag of Ambazonia.

Death to the enemy and evil within and without our liberation struggle, independence and justice to Ambazonia.

God bless you all. God bless the people of Ambazonia. God bless the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. 

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia

The trial of 21 people accused of involvement in the killings of 21 civilians in Ngarbuh, in Cameroon’s North-West region, on February 14, 2020, has dragged on for 14 months, Human Rights Watch said today. The slow pace raises concerns about the justice system’s efficiency and ability to deliver justice to the victims. The lack of progress is compounded by the limited opportunity for access and participation by victims’ families, the lack of probative witnesses, and the fact that senior officers with command responsibility have not been arrested or charged. The only witnesses so far did not see the killings and claimed the victims were separatist fighters.

“When the trial started, it was welcomed as a step toward justice and tackling impunity for military abuses in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions,” said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “But two years after the massacre, victims and their families are still awaiting justice, while security forces have continued to commit serious human rights violations.”

The Ngarbuh killings were one of the Cameroonian security forces’ worst atrocities since the crisis in the country’s Anglophone regions began in late 2016. The government initially denied that its security forces were responsible. But following international pressure, President Paul Biya established a commission of inquiry on March 1, 2020. The government then admitted that its security forces bear some responsibility and announced the arrest of two soldiers and a gendarme in June 2020.

Human Rights Watch research concluded that government forces and armed ethnic Fulani killed 21 civilians in Ngarbuh, including 13 children and a pregnant woman, burned five homes, looted scores of other properties, and beat residents in a reprisal operation against the community suspected of harboring separatist fighters. Ethnic Fulani living in and around Ngarbuh are also known as “Mbororo” and are mainly pastoralists.

The Ngarbuh trial started on December 17, 2020, before the military court in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital, and has had 15 sessions. The next is scheduled for February 17, 2022. The defendants include two soldiers: a sergeant and a first-class soldier of the 52nd Motorized Infantry Battalion (Battalion d’intervention motorisé, BIM), a gendarme, a former separatist fighter, and 17 ethnic-Fulani vigilantes, who remain at large. They have been charged with murder, arson, destruction, violence against a pregnant woman, and disobeying orders.

The court is about 450 kilometers from Ngarbuh, making it difficult for family members of victims to attend. Family members’ lawyers expressed concern about the issue in March 2021. Since then, only two relatives of victims have testified before the court.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, has said that “all investigations must be prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent” and that failure “transparently to take all necessary measures to investigate suspicious deaths and all killings by [s]tate agents and to identify and hold accountable individuals or groups responsible for violations of the right to life constitutes in itself a violation by the [s]tate of that right.”

Under international standards, including the United Nations Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death and jurisprudence from human rights bodies such as the European Court of Human Rights, for an effective investigation to be transparent, victims and their families need to have reasonable access.

Lawyers for the victims and their families told Human Rights Watch that sections 177 and 189 of Cameroon’s Criminal Procedure Code provide the possibility that a magistrate could go to Ngarbuh and collect testimony from witnesses. But instead, lawyers said, courts have used section 336 of the Criminal Procedure Code to allow criminal proceedings to be heard and determined without witnesses present.

International standards also require an effective investigation to identify and collect evidence from probative witnesses, to take all feasible steps to identify and locate those allegedly involved in the crime, and to hold to account all those responsible, such as those with command responsibility.

Instead, family members’ lawyers said that the prosecution has presented testimony from people who did not witness the killings and whose testimony is at odds with witness accounts provided during the preliminary investigation, as well as reports on the massacre by the United Nations and local and international human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch.

“Testimonies of administrative and military authorities, who serve as prosecution witnesses in this case, try to show that those killed in Ngarbuh were separatist fighters and not civilians,” said Barrister Menkem Sother, one of the family members’ lawyers. “It looks like the goal of the investigation will be to show that the Cameroon security forces only killed separatist fighters in Ngarbuh, and that the killing of any civilians was the work of vigilantes.”

The judicial authorities also appear to have made no effort to locate the accused vigilantes. According to family members’ lawyers, investigators had the telephone number and location of at least one vigilante, but apparently made no attempt to trace and apprehend him or to explain why they didn’t.

In the Anglophone regions, vigilantes work in tangent with local authorities and security forces and receive material support from the government in the form of motorcycles, first aid kits, flashlights, and metal detectors. As a result, the sub-divisional officers, including the one in Ndu, which includes Ngarbuh, should normally have a list of the vigilantes working in their areas.

The prosecution strategy also omits accountability for the authorities who had direct supervision over the suspects and the units and personnel who conducted the military operation in Ngarbuh. This includes the commander of the 52nd BIM, who acknowledged that he authorized a reconnaissance operation to Ngarbuh, and the Ndu sub-divisional officer. The 17 vigilantes would have been operating under his supervision. According to family members’ lawyers, the suspects all stated that the operation in Ngarbuh had been authorized by the Commander of the 52nd BIM and the Ndu sub-prefect.

Lawyers for the victims also said that the judge in charge of the case also sits on the court of appeals, to which complaints about the trial and requests for review will be referred. “If the parties are not satisfied with the judgment and the case is referred to the appeals court, the review will be carried out by the same judge,” said Barrister Richard Tamfu, one of the family members’ lawyers. This is a blatant violation of the right to appeal to an impartial tribunal. As set out in the Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa, judicial impartiality is compromised if “a judicial official sits as member of an appeal tribunal in a case which he or she decided or participated in a lower judicial body.”

As the trial goes on, Cameroonian security forces continue to commit serious crimes in the Anglophone regions, underscoring a climate of impunity that has fueled the crisis in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions for the past five years. Armed separatist groups have also committed abuses, including killings, kidnappings, torture, and widespread attacks on education. This highlights the urgent need for effective investigations that meet international standards into all serious abuses.

“The lack of justice for the killings of civilians in Ngarbuh and the recurring military abuses are avoidable consequences of the failure to ensure effective investigations and prosecutions,” Allegrozzi said. “Cameroonian authorities should rein in their security forces, ensure an end to abuses, and guarantee that those most responsible for the Ngarbuh killings, as well as other serious abuses, are held to account in fair and effective trials.”

Culled from Human Rights Watch

The image that has dominated social media of today’s Africa is ailing President Paul Biya not being able to handover the Africa Cup of Nations trophy to the Senegalese captain. Derision of the 88-year-old Biya on social media is widespread showing a changing media landscape where young Cameroonians are increasingly free to express their discontent publicly.

When Biya arrived the Olembe stadium for the closing ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations, he was simply a bag of bones and could barely walk. He has been in office since 1982 and will be turning 89 this year.

The Cameroonian dictator has won every election ever since he took office even though he rarely appears in public and without personally campaigning. Many political commentators are now saying that Mr. Biya is unfit to run the country because of his health problems.

A frail pensioner falling off his seat during the opening ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations in Yaoundé was billed as a triumph for the nation by militants of the ruling CPDM party from his Beti Ewondo tribal extractions. Those of us who watched Biya during the final of the Africa Cup of Nations came to the conclusion that Francophone African nations were badly in need of the gift of shame.

However, the 88-year-old head of state is part and parcel of Cameroon’s history and – with the support of his beautiful wife, Chantal Biya – he was cheered by enthusiastic well-wishers at the Olembe football temple.

The problem as far as the divided Cameroon is concerned is that the so-called father of the nation is set to remain president forever.

Paul Biya’s record of national service is questionable because he has always placed his tribal interest above democratic and economic progress. He is a French acolyte who threw his brother Idriss Deby of Chad under the bus in preference of French backing and to guarantee his continued stay in power. Together with his feared Francophone dominated military and intelligence officers; he has continued to battle Southern Cameroons Restoration fighters committed to creating an independent state in English speaking Cameroon.

Against such a background of violence in Southern Cameroons, Boko Haram incursions in the Far North region and the poor security situation in the East caused by the crisis in the Central African Republic, the appetite for coups or massive street demonstrations is limited in Cameroon. As a pro Yaoundé Southern Cameroonian told this reporter “Moving around Obili and Melen shouting Biya must go is not a wise thing to do in Yaoundé.”

The majority of those living in the cities of Douala, Yaoundé, Garoua, Maroua, Buea, Bamenda and Kumba including Bafoussam certainly want to see Cameroon’s enormous economic potential exploited to solve endemic social problems, including spiralling unemployment and infrastructure crisis. But Biya and his gang are not interested. The nation has everything including foreign reserves from oil and gas but wealth is not distributed evenly.

Cameroon is also of huge strategic importance to Europe and the US, with the Anglo-American empire viewing the country as a key ally in the war against Islamic terror. Correspondingly, with the Russians now in Bangui, Biya is at least a predictable player with whom Europe and the US can work.

From the numerous political discourses on both state and private television houses, it is evidently clear that it is time for proper democratic rule in Cameroon. However, CPDM sources in Yaoundé suggested to this reporter that the Beti Ewondo ruling clan is not ready for change and that key lieutenants still want Biya to remain in power.

Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of the behaviour of the 40-year-old Biya regime during the Africa Cup of Nations was the abiding image of Paul Biya at the Olembe Football Stadium and that summed up the state of Cameroon’s leadership crisis.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

HIGHLIGHTS

Seven attacks on healthcare were reported, two in the North-West (NW) and five in the South-West (SW).

Two ambulance staff of an international medical NGO have been detained by State security forces following patient’s transfer duties.

NSAGs perpetrated 11 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) incidents in the NWSW, including two in Buea town in the SW, targeting communities.

The cholera outbreak in the South-West region continues to spread. As of 31 December, four health districts have confirmed cases, with 521 cases and 18 deaths.

SITUATION REPORT

Fighting continues between State security forces (SSFs) and non-State armed groups (NSAGs). The population in the NWSW continues to suffer the impact of armed clashes and insecurity, ranging from exposure to crossfire and abductions to explosions from improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) reported 11 IEDs incidents in December; four in the NW and seven in the SW. While most incidents had SSFs as target, three incidents reported in the Fako division directly targeted populations. On 6 December, allegedly NSAG fighters detonated an IED at Soppo market. A second IED was discovered at the market and deactivated by SSFs. On 13 December, an IED explosion was reported at a trade fair at Bongo Square in Clerks Quarter neighbourhood. An unspecified number of people were injured. These attacks and others reported in Buea in the past months targeting civilians are instilling fear among the population. Imposed Monday ghost town rule declared by NSAG are still in place.

The cholera outbreak in Ndian division, South-West, is aggravating. As of 31 December, 521 cases, including 18 deaths, were reported. This is an important increase in comparison to 105 reported cases at the end of November. Humanitarian actors continue to support Ekondo Titi and Bakassi health districts in Ndian division. Access is worsened by poor roads while maritime access is challenging with the presence of pirates and limited resources to reach affected areas. The sea route was considered the safest means of access to the Ekondo-Titi subdivision, used by humanitarian organizations operating in Bamusso as an alternative to roads where there is a high number of NSAG attacks. The presence of pirates on this route has increased security risks for partners and will most likely hinder rapid and safe humanitarian access and the ability to implement activities, especially cholera outbreak related ones.

Attacks on healthcare continued in the NWSW. On 5 December, SSFs reportedly made an incursion into St Mary Soledad hospital in Alakuma- Mankon, NW. During this incident, wards were searched, Patients were harassed and two suspected NSAG fighters who were receiving treatment were arrested. On 26 December, SSFs stopped an international medical NGO ambulance at Nguti checkpoint, Kupe-Muanenguba, transporting an injured man from Ashum village in Tinto subdivision, Manyu division to a hospital in Mutengene, in Tiko subdivision. Security forces retrieved the patient and ordered the NGO team to go back to Mamfe, Manyu division. The ambulance driver and the nurse were arrested and detained for investigation. Seven attacks on healthcare were reported in the NWSW. These incidents remain a serious threat to the availability of timely and equitable healthcare in the restive regions.

Displacement continues due to insecurity and violence. Protection continues to be a major concern as civilians continue to be arbitrarily arrested, assaulted, abducted for ransom, and denied access to basic services. Over 2,490 individuals were reportedly displaced in the NWSW in December, following armed confrontations between SSFs and NSAGs, or as a preventive measure for fear of being attacked. Emergency assessments were conducted to identify priority needs of the affected population. Most of them intended to go back to their locations of origin once the situation allows, due to poor living conditions in the bush settlements and limited access to services in host communities.

Culled from UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Summary of the profile of the NERA 10

1.            Julius AyukTabe: Information Technology expert, Vice President of the American University of Nigeria.

2.            Augustine ChehAwasum: Professorof Veterinary Surgery and Diagnostic Imaging, Ahmadu Bello University.

3.            Blaise BerinyuySevidzem: Barrister-at-Law, human rights advocate, solicitor and notary public.

4.            Cornelius NjikimbiKwanga: PhD in Economics and Senior Lecturer, Umaru Musa Yar’adua University.

5.            Egbe OgorkNtui: PhD in Engineering and Associate Professor of Structural Engineering in Bayero University

6.            Elias EbaiEyambe: Barrister-at-Law, advocate, solicitor and notary public.

7.            Fidelis Ndeh-Che: PhD in Engineering and Senior Lecturer in Engineering at the American University of Nigeria.

8.            Henry Tata Kimeng: PhD in Engineering and Architecture and Associate Professor of Engineering and Architecture, Ahmadu Bello University.

9.            Nfor Ngala Nfor: Political scientist and author.

10.Wilfred FombangTassang: Secondary School teacher and trade union leader.

The standing of the ten gentlemen

These are highly educated gentlemen with careers in significant niche areas. Most of them are University professors with distinguished academic credentials in disciplines such as veterinary surgery, structural engineering, architecture, and ICT. They have a track record of significant contribution in knowledge generation and in community engagement. These political prisoners also include two barristers-at-law and human rights activists, one teacher, and one political scientist. These prisoners of conscience are all, but for one, below sixty years of age. They are all married and have children. Their wives and children are under severe physical and emotional trauma and pain on account of the incarcerationof their husbands and fathers for no just cause. Finally, these gentlemen are all legally resident in Nigeria. Some are University professors for years. Some have refugee status. Others are registered asylum seeks.

The law

The kidnap and hostage-holding of the NERA 10 contravenes provisions of the Nigerian and Cameroun constitutions. Both constitutions provide for freedom of association, assembly and speech.The law in both countries sets out procedures for arrest and detention. The law in both countries does not authorise arbitrary arrest and detention. It does not authorise kidnapping and hostage-taking. It does not authorise torture. The kidnapping, smuggling and incommunicado detention of the Nera 10 is not sanctioned by any judicial process. The law has been trampled on.The NERA 10 were simply kidnapped, held incommunicado for weeks, forcibly repatriated to Yaoundé at night under armed terror. While in Yaoundé they are further held incommunicado and without access to sunlight for over six months before being dumped in the insalubrious, squalid and cramped Kondengui prison.

The Nigerian and Cameroun authorities violated relevant fundamental human rights. These rights are enshrined in the Constitution of each country. They are also enshrinedinvarious international instruments duly ratified by each country, including the 1951 Refugees Convention and the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, 1969/1974. The deprivation of the liberty of these gentlemen and their systematic torture arein violation of their rights and freedoms guaranteed underinternational law. In particular, they are in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.

Cameroun and Nigeria are parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. That Convention prohibits torture in all its forms. It further prohibits the deportation or extradition of persons to countries where there are good grounds for believing that they would be in danger of suffering it. Cameroun Republic has precisely such a lugubrious reputation.

The NERA 10 are all civilians. In violation of international law, they are put through the motion of a trial in a military tribunal and in a language (French) and legal system (French) the hostages do not understand.That tribunal acknowledged the protected status of the NERA 10 as refugees and asylum seekers legally resident in Nigeria. It acknowledged that the NERA 10 had committed no crime either in Cameroun or in Nigeria.The kidnapping and hostage-keeping of the Nera 10 is a matter with international dimensions. The tribunal nevertheless purported to assume jurisdiction to try them and went ahead to subject them to a pretended ‘trial’. French Cameroun’s apex court has maintained a studied and suspect silence over the appeal lodged in September 2019 by the NERA 10 against their ‘conviction’ and ‘sentence’. Even complaints filed with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in June 2019 remain unanswered to this day.

In Suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/85/2018 of 1March 2018, the Federal High Court of Nigeria held that the arrest and detention of the NERA 10 and their forced repatriation (‘refoulement’) to Cameroun constitutes gross violations of their fundamental human rights. The Court ordered the State of Nigeria to pay compensation to each of them in the sum of 5 million Naira each. It alsogranted a perpetual injunction against any further violations of their rights. Inthe related case ofSisikuAyukTabe and others v. National Security Adviser and Attorney General of the Federation of Nigeria(Suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/147/2018) the Nigerian Federal High Court at Abuja adjudged and declared:that the NERA 10 are legal residents in Nigeria, some of who have refugee status and others are registered asylum seekers; that their fundamental rights have been violated; that their forced repatriation to Cameroun is illegal; and that the Nigerian authorities are under legal obligation “to bring back the Applicants from Cameroun to Nigeria forthwith”. The Court went further to grant a perpetual injunction against any further violation of the fundamental rights of the Applicants, and to rule that the NERA 10 be paid damages, the amount of which the Court quantified. These two judgmentshave not yet been executed.

Risk of being murdered

There is well-founded fear of a plot to murder the NERA 10 in prison.In 2020, Kondegui prison officials brought unidentified persons into the prison to trail the NERA 10 political prisoners. In March of that year the said individuals broke into the cell-room of 3 of the Nera 10. They stole money and contaminated their food. The Nera 10 called for an investigation and for forensic analysis of the food samples for poisons. The prison authorities ignored and continue to ignore this request.Recently, over 75% of the inmates, including Barrister Shufai Blaise, complained of generalised malaise, lethargy, fever, sore throat, coughing, chest and abdominal pains. Shufai Blaise’s condition became severe and he collapsed. He was comatose throughout the last half of the night and was rushed to the military hospital. There, while on intravenous medications, he was forcibly restrained with both hands chained in a crucifying position and left to the nuisance of biting insects for days. Till date no one has bothered to test inmates for corona virus or give them appropriate treatment for any ailment.

Prisoners’ property still in the possession of Nigerian and Cameroun authorities

The moveable property of the NERA 10 is still under the control and possession of the Nigerian and Cameroun authorities.These include clothes, belts, shoes, caps, hats, inner wears, gold necklaces, bracelets, wrist-watch,writing pens, purses with money, documents, and house keys. They also include briefcases, bags of shoes, laptop bags, laptops, motorcars, money, documents, students’ theses and dissertations, computer external hard drives and accessories, bank cards, cell phones and other contents.

SED, Cameroun’s Auschwitz manned by its Gestapo

Detainees at SED are denied access to sunlight. They are locked up 24 hours a day. Detainees include children. Mistreatment is systematic.There is no soap for washing or taking a shower. Washing is a luxury.Detainees do not get proper food. They are under-fed. They are flagellated and otherwise systematically tortured in and out of the torture facility at that place. The SED gendarmes who carry out these bestial tortures have earned the dubious distinction of being Cameroun’s Gestapo.

Kondengui, harsh and life-threatening prison conditions

The NERA 10 are held in Kondengui prison’scrowded, cramped and makeshift cells. That prison is overflowing with inmates. It holds more than ten times its original capacity. The conditions there are inhuman and worse than a nightmare. Inmates have something to eat only if family, friends or some charitable organisation brings them food. There is no regular drinking water, no washing facilities, and no medical care. The conditions are shocking. Some inmates have been there for years without trial. Some others have been reduced to just skin and bone. That prison is generally often dark. It is cramped, airless, disease-ridden, and provides wretched ‘food’. It is an extremely dreadful place. The prison conditions are miserable; in fact, horrible. They amount to general barbarous treatment and the degradation of inmates.

The tribunal militaire, an instrument of tyranny, repression and oppression

The Nera 10, kidnapped and taken hostage in Abuja at night using military force and smuggled into Yaoundé at night using military force, are persons of high standing in their communities and various professional fields. They are subjected to a pretended trial by French Cameroun’s infamoustribunal militaire.Since the 1960s, this political tribunal ‘tries’ even civilians – civilians accused of political and non-political offences. It is, has been, and continues to be,Yaoundé’s handy instrument of despotism, political vendetta and repression. This is done in defiance of repeated rulings by the Human Rights Committee and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights declaring as contrary to international law the systematic use of the military tribunal to try civilians. As early as 1964, the International Commission of Jurists had called on Cameroun to disseise or remove the jurisdiction of its miliary tribunal over civilians. (International Commission of Jurists, “Emergency Laws in the Federal republic of Cameroon,” 20 Bulletin of the International Commission of Jurists, September 1964, p.7). The NERA 10 have been given a sentence of life imprisonment. This sentence wasprescribedby the Yaoundé regime even before their ‘trial’. The life sentence in effect means a sentence to slow death given the disease-ridden and insalubrious conditions of Kondengui Prison.The NERA 10 are languishing and pinning away in that dreadful prison.The additional sentence to a fine is scandalous, all the more so as the amount exceeds even the annual budget of Cameroun.

Urgent appeal to the conscientious world: immediate and unconditional release of the political prisoners

We appeal to the conscientious world to use its best endeavours, individually and collectively, to secure the release of the NERA 10 (and other political prisoners arbitrarily seized and held by the Yaoundé regime). The Nera 10 are fine and highly educated gentlemen who have been kidnapped and severely tortured and are being held hostage for no just reason. They deserve to be released unconditionally without further delay. Their release is warranted on grounds of international law, justice, human rights, and humanitarian considerations.

By Professor Carlson Anyangwe

On Monday morning, 17 January, Samuel Eto’o officially began a new job.

At the age of 40, Cameroon’s most famous son has already completed one glittering career. His magical right foot took him all the way from Ngambé, a small village in the Littoral region, into a starring role at some of the world’s biggest football clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan. At Barcelona he was part of arguably the greatest club team ever assembled, playing alongside Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho and winning two Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles in the process.

He is perhaps the greatest African footballer of all time. He won his first cap for the Indomitable Lions the day before his 16th birthday, and went on to lead the team to two Africa Cup of Nations trophies and Cameroon’s first ever Olympic gold medal.

After retiring from football in 2019, he could be forgiven if he were to sit back in one of his four houses – he splits his time between Paris, Milan, Abidjan and Douala’s New-Bell neighbourhood – and admiring his many, many trophies.

Instead, the world-famous striker threw himself into the messy politics of Fecafoot, Cameroon’s football federation – and, with tactical acumen reminiscent of his brilliance on the pitch, emerged on top. As of this week, he is officially the federation’s new president.

But few believe that Eto’o’s political ambitions will stop there.

The Continent reached out to Eto’o for comment via his foundation, Fecafoot, and a close friend, but received no response.

A natural politician

Despite his sporting pedigree, and his enormous popularity within Cameroon, no one thought Eto’o stood a chance when he first announced that he was running for the Fecafoot presidency. Except Eto’o himself, that is. “I will be the next president of the federation despite all the cheating,” he said as he filed his nomination papers in November.

One obstacle in his way was his dual citizenship. Having acquired a Spanish passport during his Barcelona days, Eto’o was initially ineligible to take part. But this rule was later thrown out in court.

Another hurdle was that the position was already occupied by a powerful member of the country’s ruling elite. Seidou Mbombo Njoya is royalty: a son of the Bamum Kingdom in western Cameroon, which wields enormous political and cultural power. Having assumed the position in 2018, Mbombo Njoya had no intention of relinquishing it, and enjoyed strong support from both the Confederation of African Football and Fifa, the sport’s global ruling body – neither of which welcomed Eto’o’s promise to clean up Cameroonian football.

But Eto’o outmanoeuvred the incumbent at every turn. He did it by running a sophisticated political campaign that would not have been out of place in a presidential election. Instead of focusing his attention on the 76 delegates who actually vote, he criss-crossed all of Cameroon’s ten districts visiting schools, community centres and army bases, charming local authorities and traditional leaders as he did so. Every moment was documented on social media. He forged alliances with prominent businessmen and key power brokers like the new lamido (Fulani ruler) of Garoua, Ibrahim el Rachidine, who helped sway delegates to his side. And he appointed the services of a top PR consultant, who carefully framed Eto’o as a champion of the people.

“People were asking themselves: Is this guy paving his way to become Fecafoot president or the president of the republic?” said one journalist who followed the campaign closely, speaking to The Continent on condition of anonymity. In Cameroon, where President Paul Biya has been in power since 1982, it can be dangerous to even speculate about who might come next.

More curious still was Eto’o’s energetic courting of regional leaders, who could have no influence on the Fecafoot vote. In 2021, he met with the presidents of Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mauritania and Togo; the prime minister of Côte d’Ivoire; and even Assimi Goïta, the colonel who orchestrated Mali’s military coup – an itinerary more typically associated with statesmen than footballers.

Seeking Biya’s blessing

On 11 December, with 11-million people watching on TV – the first televised election in Cameroon’s history – Samuel Eto’o was elected as president of Fecafoot. Thousands of young Cameroonians gathered outside the Fecafoot headquarters in Yaoundé to cheer him on. In Eto’o, they saw hope for change.

When it comes to Cameroonian politics, and the country’s octogenarian president, change is a commodity that is in short supply.

But Eto’o has close links with Cameroon’s presidency – so close that online publication Africa Is A Country once described him as a “PR pawn for the protracted rule of the country’s ageing and hard-line head of state”. In 2011, in the run-up to the national election, he was among the guests invited to party with Biya and his wife at the president’s residence in Mvomeka. In 2018, Eto’o enthusiastically endorsed Biya’s bid for a seventh consecutive term in office, saying that he would be voting for Biya and that “the most important thing is that my brothers do like me”.

(Eto’o is not the only footballer to shill for the regime. Roger Milla, hero of the 1990 World Cup, is the president’s “special goodwill ambassador”. Rigobert Song, the former Indomitable Lions captain, also parties in Mvomeka and wears ruling party attire.)

Before launching his bid for the Fecafoot presidency, Eto’o sought the blessing of Biya, whom he refers to as his “father”. Biya gave it, but attached one condition, according to the magazine The Africa Report: Eto’o’s political ambitions must go no further. Biya is thought to be grooming his son, Franck Biya, to succeed him, and does not need a wildly popular football star to get in the way.

A shiny distraction

Earlier this month, the Africa Cup of Nations kicked off at Yaoundé’s shiny new $326-million Olembe Stadium (also known as the Paul Biya Stadium). Cameroon’s hosting of the tournament is three years late, delayed first due to security concerns and then because of the pandemic. Finally, however, President Biya got his moment in the international limelight, waving regally to his subjects as the presidential motorcade did laps around the pitch.

It was easy to forget, amid all the exuberance and flag-waving, that this is a nation at war with itself. For the last five years, a bitter conflict has raged between Biya’s security forces and separatists from Cameroon’s Anglophone regions (English speakers make up about 20% of the country’s population, and have been historically marginalised). At least 4 000 people have been killed, and a million more forced from their homes. A generation of children have been denied access to education. Both sides have been accused of war crimes including extrajudicial killings and sexual assault.

The separatists have pledged to disrupt the tournament, and have made good on that promise: shots were fired to disrupt a Malian team practice, while Gambia’s team bus was near the scene when a homemade bomb went off in the town of Buea, injuring three police officers. “Do not put football fans’ lives at risk thinking Africa’s most corrupt regime will guarantee security,” said a spokesperson for the rebels.

Samuel Eto’o has carefully steered clear of the conflict – pretending, for the most part, that it doesn’t exist. In 2018, he announced a plan to tour schools in the conflict-affected areas, but was forced to cancel after a public outcry from Anglophone leaders who saw it as an endorsement of the regime’s brutal approach.

But a clearer endorsement came in January last year when Eto’o visited a battalion of the Rapid Intervention Brigade, or BIR – the elite military unit that reports directly to Biya himself. The BIR is one of the key ways that Biya keeps himself in power, and it has been repeatedly implicated in human rights abuses including torture, assault and the indiscriminate killing of civilians.

Eto’o is a fan. “Had the pleasure of spending time in Maroua with my brothers and sisters in the army and witnessed their discipline, professionalism and selfless commitment to putting their lives on the line for our country,” he tweeted. “Good luck to the BIR and to those who fight for the honor of 237!” (+237 is Cameroon’s dialling code).

Monsieur le Président

As the crowds cheered Biya on Afcon’s opening day, Eto’o was conspicuously absent from both the ceremony and the television coverage. He was spotted walking alone in a tunnel into the stadium, without any escort or protocol. Later, a video emerged of him speaking to his long-time friend Fally Ipupa, the Congolese singer who performed at the ceremony. Fally said he was going to give Eto’o a shout-out on stage, but Eto’o told him not to. “No, please, I don’t want any problem. There’s just one president and he’s here today.”

But not everyone is so circumspect. “Wherever Samuel Eto’o goes these days, everyone calls him president. We don’t know whether they are referring to him as Fecafoot president or president of the republic,” said the veteran journalist.

Either way, and no matter how loudly Eto’o affirms his loyalty, Paul Biya will be watching his back very closely indeed. If Samuel Eto’o is as skilled at politics as he is at football – and the early signs suggest that he is – then the president might just have something to worry about.

Culled from The Continent

The beautiful game. These three words are among the most dangerously abused words in the English language. The romanticisation of football has given the sport so much power that it can get away with anything, even responsibility for the deaths of people who merely wanted to watch their team play.

It’s this romanticism that makes us turn the other way when the sport, its players and fans are exploited for our entertainment. It’s because of this power that vile, murderous and authoritarian regimes are celebrated when they use their vast financial resources, some of which are obtained through the abuse of human rights, to help a football club win trophies.

It’s because of this power that Gianni Infantino, president of world football governing body Fifa, can say with a straight face that should the World Cup be played every two years instead of the current four, fewer African migrants would die in the Mediterranean Sea trying to make their way to Europe and a better life. His campaign for a biennial global tournament has been heavily criticised as a money-making scheme that puts neither the game nor players’ interests at heart.

Infantino is among many men, including generals and dictators, who have abused the beautiful game for their own wealth and to improve their image. Cameroon’s President Paul Biya is among those men. The 88-year-old has ruled the Central African nation since 1982. Cameroonian philosopher Achille Mbembe is assumed to have had Biya, and others like him, in mind when he wrote of a rapacious political caste for whom a “violent quest for grandeur makes vulgarity and wrongdoing its main mode of existence”. Biya is now under immense pressure from his people to step down, with the country’s economy tanking and a political crisis that has been raging for five years.

The president who promised to be a leader for all Cameroonians has led a regime that has marginalised the English-speaking minority. Instead of listening to their pleas, the government has reacted with force to the protests organised to shine a light on the suffering that the minority group has endured in Cameroon. More than 4 000 people have been killed and half a million displaced in what has come to be known as the Anglophone crisis.

Sleight of hand                                                                                                                                                                                

The continent has been largely silent about this crisis. It is likely why there hasn’t been vociferous criticism of Cameroon hosting the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). The tournament is part of Biya’s grand plan to win over the youth and paper over the cracks in his regime: a month-long party for the football-obsessed country focuses their attention on the great talent on display rather than his failings.  

So far it has worked. Even after the stampede at Olembé Stadium that claimed eight lives, the country’s appetite for the competition remains high. It’s ironic that the stampede happened at the stadium Biya controversially named after himself and spent millions of dollars on, a vanity project to keep his name eternal and help boost his dwindling support. Now, when you search for the stadium online, the uppermost results are reports about the stampede deaths and not its beauty, extravagance, or even the man himself. The state reportedly spent $700 million (R10.8 billion) to build stadiums and improve roads for the Afcon in an extremely expensive public relations exercise.

The stampede removed the plaster Biya was trying to put over a broken bone. Attendance has generally been poor because of high ticket prices that many Cameroonians cannot afford owing to the meagre wages they earn. The low vaccination rate, with only an estimated 3% of the population having been jabbed, has not helped with Covid-19 safety protocols. Only those who are fully vaccinated and can produce a negative polymerase chain reaction test can attend the games.

The Anglophone crisis has also loomed large during the tournament. To avoid embarrassment, the government has limited movement in the English-speaking regions and installed a heavy police and army presence. The situation is so volatile that during the promotion of the Afcon in the region, Mola the mascot wore a bulletproof vest.

Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe used the tired line about football having the power to unite people when asked about the threats the Anglophone crisis posed, and more recently when asked if the Afcon should continue after the death of eight people at a stadium.

Lack of safety

As news of the stampede spread during Cameroon’s 2-1 win over Comoros on 24 January, the show went on inside Olembé Stadium – while people were dying. Some called for the Afcon to be called off, questioning the callousness of continuing. But halting the tournament is a no-go for cash-strapped CAF, which wouldn’t dare touch the goose that lays golden eggs, regardless of how many lives are lost. 

A thorough investigation into the cause of the stampede is necessary, and those responsible must be held accountable. Some survivors have already shared their stories. The common thread is that access was delayed because of blocked entrances and when spectators tried to enter through gate S, after a long wait, it was locked. This resulted in a deadly surge when the crowd forced its way into the stadium. Some of those pushing their way in allegedly didn’t have tickets. And a six-year-old boy, among others, died because of this.

This stampede should serve as a reminder to Cameroon to not only focus on policing the stadiums, but also on creating a safe and secure environment. This is the biggest problem with most authoritarian states on the continent: more resources are spent on policing and instilling fear than on public safety.

The power football holds could be harnessed to bring about social change in Cameroon. In Egypt and Algeria, fanatical and organised groups of supporters known as ultras played a key role in the removal of Hosni Mubarak and Abdelaziz Bouteflika. “Football is intrinsically political. Under the right circumstances, it can contribute to radical change,” writes Gabriel Kuhn in Soccer vs. the State.

Kuhn says “football stadiums can also be sites for expressing dissatisfaction with authoritarian regimes. A defeat in football can also become a defeat for an authoritarian ruler. The football stadiums of Africa – like those of other continents – are locations of opposition or counterpower. Football is a medium to execute and resist power.”

Advantage and opportunity

Opportunists have selfishly used the sport to their advantage. It’s time that the true owners of the game reclaim it, reshape it into something more palatable and use the power football has to bring about change. Football cannot and will never change the world on its own; that’s another romantic notion of followers of the game. But in the right hands it can be a vehicle to bring about social change. That, however, would only be a start. Serious work outside the pitch would be needed to ensure that the change lasts.  

“At the end of the 1994 World Cup, every child born in Brazil was named Romario, and the turf of the stadium in Los Angeles was sold off like pizza, at $20 a slice. A bit of insanity worthy of a better cause? A primitive and vulgar business? A bag of tricks manipulated by the owners? I’m one of those who believe that football might be all that, but it is also much more: a feast of the eyes that watch it and a joy for the body that plays it,” writes one of the biggest football romantics and critics, Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano, in Football In Sun and Shadow.

Culled from New Frame

Less than five months after soldiers in fatigues appeared on national television in Guinea to announce that they had removed President Alpha Condé from office, the spectacle was repeated on Monday in Burkina Faso, as the military proclaimed the overthrow of head of state Roch Kaboré.

And that’s not forgetting the double-putsch in Mali, where army officers deposed President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in August 2020.

They promised the regional bloc the Economic Community of West African State (Ecowas) they would organise elections by next month.

But in May 2021 they staged a second takeover to reassert control over the transition and later set out plans to stay in power for almost five more years.

Yet, West Africa was a region where constitutional multi-party civilian politics had become the norm.

Almost all countries were at least formally democratic, even if some elected presidents, once in office, twisted the rules to perpetuate their stay in power.

Now three members of Ecowas are under the command of men in uniform.

Is the long-forgotten era of the military strongman making a comeback?

That is probably too simple a way of looking at things.

Guinea was always a bit of a case apart – with a long history of dismal governance and repression.

Mr Condé was elected as the first democratic head of state in 2010 but became increasingly autocratic, altering the constitution to allow himself to run for a third term in 2020 and jailing a growing number of opponents.

His downfall last September, at the hands of soldiers promising an inclusive transition to genuine democracy, met with an almost universal welcome among Guineans; there was barely a hint of regret even from his own political party.

How an insurgency led to a coup – again

By contrast, in Burkina Faso, as in Mali, it is the jihadist security crisis that has clearly exerted a destabilising toll.

The relentless reports of Islamist attacks fuelling popular anger on urban streets and resentment among soldiers who feel they are being sent out, too lightly armed, underpaid or even under-fed, to sustain the struggle against militant groups that take no prisoners.

This week’s Burkinabè putsch – like the 2020 coup in Mali, and even the previous 2012 military takeover in that country – is an outburst of exasperation from the lower and middle-ranking soldiers who risk their lives on the front line in what is a brutally uncompromising conflict.

Feelings had become particularly intense since a 14 November jihadist attack on the Inata gendarmerie garrison in northern Burkina Faso that left 53 of the 120 troops dead.

Some in Burkina Faso want Russian forces to replace the French – as they have in Mali

Demands for a more effective security strategy had built up through last year, and President Kaboré overhauled first his government and then the military command in an effort to regain the political momentum and begin to restore some stability for Burkina Faso’s battered northern and eastern provinces.

Over the past two years these have seen more than 1,000 schools close and 1.5 million people flee their homes to escape the violence, some left with no choice but to beg for money or food on the streets of the capital, Ouagadougou. More than 2,000 people have lost their lives.

Of course, the Sahel crisis is not new. For a decade jihadist groups and inter-communal tensions have threatened the security of everyday village life across ever wider areas of the region, while weak governments struggle to maintain basic administration and public services.

The intervention of French and West African forces in Mali in 2013 did liberate towns from militant Islamist occupation. But it brought no halt to the expansion of the map of rural violence.

And over the past three years the spiral of insecurity has felt as if it is accelerating – particularly in Burkina Faso, where the pattern of indiscriminate attacks on both civilians and security forces outposts has spread rapidly southwards from more remote border areas to impact communities ever closer to Ouagadougou.

The main eastern highway to the city of Fada Ngourma and, beyond that, the border with Niger, is no longer safe. And mines are easily hidden in the dust of the region’s rural roads, imperilling everyday journeys to markets or schools.

Last June insurgent massacres in the villages of Solhan and Tadaryat, in Yagha province, left at least 174 people dead.

How Kaboré lost his popularity

Mr Kaboré was elected in November 2015, in the wake of a people-power revolution that had turfed out the previous authoritarian regime. And five years later he was comfortably re-elected to a second term, in a broadly fair and genuinely democratic contest.

But after that he suffered a dramatic slump in popularity as confidence in his ability to get on top of the worsening jihadist violence crumbled.

After rumblings of military discontent over recent weeks, soldiers in key bases in the capital finally mutinied on Sunday, unrest that by late the next day had developed into a full-scale coup.

There are clearly echoes of the 2020 army takeover in Mali. That came after a particularly severe wave of jihadist attacks the previous year and despite some subsequent progress by the government, regional neighbours and France in the campaign against the militants.

But this time around, in Burkina Faso, the timetable has telescoped.

The Inata attack came when the government was still in the midst of redrafting its strategy and the sense of panic has only deepened.

Less than three months later, Mr Kaboré is out of power and in military detention.

About 1.5 million people have been forced to flee their homes in Burkina Faso because of the insurgency

It is easy to feel as if the jihadists are deliberately seeking to foment unrest in Sahelian armies.

But in reality, the news of one murderous attack after another, claiming the lives of villagers, local security volunteers or soldiers and gendarmes, fuels a mood of fear and perhaps almost helplessness that can undermine army loyalties anyway.

Now there is speculation about whether Niger, which has been targeted by the same groups as Mali and Burkina Faso, could also face the risk of a military takeover.

There are few certainties in the present condition of the Sahel. But there are some differences from the situation in Burkina.

Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum has launched a major drive to persuade villagers to return to the home areas from which they had fled because of the violence, but supported now with a reinforced military presence, and the restoration of local public services and development programmes.

This is an attempt to prevent jihadist violence from depopulating whole areas and destroying the local social and economic fabric. Will it succeed?

Some commentators suggest that the response to the Sahel crisis “has become securitised” and that development is the true answer.

But across the region, many respond that it is not possible to tackle economic and social challenges without providing security first.

Culled from BBC