Armed elements of the Military Intelligence Service, Tuesday, January 14, swooped on the Fon of Balikumbat, Fon Bah Gah Nyamnyin III, and remanded him into custody. He was later released.

Local media reported that the men in uniform stormed the traditional ruler’s Yaounde residence at about 1.00am to arrest the Fon. The armed soldiers reportedly rough handled the Fon before whisking him away like a mere hoodlum.

“According to palace sources, the Fon was accused of being among those bankrolling Amba activities in Balikumbat. After long hours of grilling, The Post learnt that the soldiers later released the young Fon, for lack of incriminating evidence.

“It was reported that the accusation was false and could amount to a kind of set up. Palace sources hinted that someone simply lied to the military that the young Fon was sponsoring their activities in Balikumbat.

“But the Fon was later released from the Gendarmerie headquarters after intense grilling. Observers hold that the arrest was a big paradox given that the Fon has never relented in his efforts in fighting against the armed Separatists in his Fondom.

“It was in Balikumbat that some young people mobilised themselves to storm Amba camps, chasing the fighters away. According to a source, it was the separatist fighters who reportedly claimed that the Fon was financing their activities.

“The source said the boys made such a claim after failing to blackmail him to be their supporter. Vilification of some Anglophone elite as informants to the military or separatists is one of the most deadly fallouts of the Anglophone Crisis. There are many people in jail or in their graves because some people simply claimed to the military that they were agents of the separatist fighters.

“Such set ups are now used in the two Regions by enemies to settle scores. Thus, the case of the Fon of Balikumbat was not an isolated issue. Many observers take exception to the fact that the soldiers brutally arrested and humiliated the Fon before releasing him. To them, they could arrest him without being brutal, especially because he is a traditional authority.

“Northwest elites who know how sacred the authority of the Fon is were embarrassed that a Fon of that prominence could easily be whisked-off and shoved into detention by hearsay.”

Source: Cameroon Info.Net