Julius Ayuk Tabe and nine other separatist leaders made their first public appearance Thursday since Nigeria extradited the men to Cameroon in January.

The men appeared tired as they were brought into a Court of Appeals in the capital under heavy military escort.

Nigerian authorities arrested Tabe and 46 of his followers in Abuja, where they were accused of remotely leading a rebellion in English-speaking parts of Cameroon.

The 36 others who did not appear in court have yet to be seen in public.

Separatist supporter Diana Awemo said she traveled from the English-speaking northwestern town of Bamenda to see the men.

“We are happy. We can now confirm that ten of them are alive. We want to see the others that were kidnapped with them in Nigeria and brought back into Cameroon.” Awemo said.

Defense counsel John Nsoh said the accused were deprived of their right to meet their lawyers. He said they have filed a motion for their immediate release.

“This is the first opportunity for them to tell their story to a court. These people were arrested illegally, they were abducted, they were not even arrested, taken from a foreign country and brought into Cameroon and detained incommunicado for more than 10 months,” Nsoh said.

Cameroon’s government calls the separatist leaders terrorists and says those arrested will go before a military tribunal. If convicted, they could face the death penalty.

Tabe in October last year declared himself the president of what he called the English-speaking republic of Ambazonia in Cameroon’s northwest and southwest.

Since Tabe’s arrest, armed separatists have launched sporadic attacks in the region on the military, markets and public buildings. At least a hundred schools have been torched and 300,000 people have fled to safer, French-speaking towns and neighboring Nigeria.

The government says more than 400 civilians, police and troops have been killed in the fighting.

In spite of the tensions and violence, Emmanuel Ngaibe, a relative of one of the arrested separatist leaders, expressed hope they will receive a fair trial.

“I hope that the court will be very, very independent and exercise justice and that politicians will not intervene in the matter,” Ngaibe said.

Violence erupted in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions in 2016 when teachers and lawyers protested alleged discrimination at the hands of the French-speaking majority.

The government responded with a crackdown that sparked a movement for an independent, English-speaking state.

Source: VOA

Now that you are here

The Cameroon Concord News Group Board wishes to inform its faithful readers that for more than a decade, it has been providing world-class reports of the situation in Southern Cameroons.  The Board has been priding itself on its reports which have helped the world to gain a greater understanding of the crisis playing out in Southern Cameroons. It hails its reporters who have also helped the readers to have a broader perspective of the political situation in Cameroon.

The Board wishes to thank its readers who have continued to trust Southern Cameroon’s leading news platform. It is therefore using this opportunity to state that its reporters are willing to provide more quality information to the readers.    However, due to the changing global financial context, the Board is urging its readers to play a significant role in the financing of the news organization.  It is therefore calling on its faithful readers to make whatever financial contribution they can to ensure they get the latest developments in their native Southern Cameroons, in particular, and Cameroon in general.

Bank transaction: Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Banking IBAN: GB51 BARC 2049 1103 9130 15

Swift BIC BARC GB22XX

SORT CODE 20-49-11, ACCOUNT NUMBER – 03913015 Barclay PLC, UK

The Board looks forward to hearing from the readers.

Signed by the Group Chairman on behalf of the Board of Directors

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Email: soteragbawebai@gmail.com