The Fon of Bambalang, HRM Yakum Kevin Teuvih who serves as the President of the Northwest House of Chiefs, and Vice president of the Northwest Regional Assembly has appeared in a video, pleading on “the powers that be” to release family members of separatist fighter, self-styled Field Marshall No Pity, so that in return the separatist commander and his group can release him, the Fon.
In the video which the Fon himself dates to November 13, 2022, he said he is held by ‘No Pity’ and his team. He stated that the separatist commander has said he will only release him, if officials detaining the family members of the separatist commander frees them.
“I am here in the hands of No Pity and he says if his family members are not released, he won’t release me. He has said if his family members are freed today, he will equally free me. So I am using this medium to cry out and plead on the powers that be, to facilitate the release of his family members so that I too can be freed from here.” He said.
The Northwest House of Chiefs president was abducted by separatist fighters from his palace in Bambalang way back on December 7, 2021. He was reportedly captured alongside his bodyguard whose whereabouts have remained unknown too. At a point in time, it was alleged that the abductors of the Fon had asked for FCFA 20 million for his release. Because of the insecurity in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions, several traditional rulers, especially those seen by the separatist fighters to be leaning towards the government have been targeted and molested. This has caused many of them to flee their palaces and live out of the troubled regions as Internally Displaced Persons.