By Andrew Nsoseka, JADE
For some time now, since June 15, 2018, several families have remained gripped with fear of the fate that may have befallen their loved ones after they were abducted by an armed group operating in Ndian Division, in Cameroon’s Southwest Region.
Their worst fears were confirmed on July 6, 2023, when 24-year-old Tamaya Clinton, one of the separatist fighters who belonged to the group, the Expendables 100, that abducted the delegates, said the six were all killed later, following orders from separatist leaders funding their group from abroad. The said group is the Ambazonia Governing Council, AGC, led by Samuel Ikome Sako.
Tamaya, who is now at the DDR Centre in Buea as a repentant fighter, said their group was ordered to kill the delegates, and it went on to dig graves for the victims, after which they were shot and buried. The shocking revelation comes after two years of speculation on the fate of the delegates who went on a field mission and ended up being abducted.
Shortly after news of their abduction became public, one of the victims, the Divisional Delegate of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Johnson Mudika Mabia, was reported dead. The 42-year-old delegate was killed on Friday, June 18, 2021, three days after they were abducted by the armed group. His remains were transported, through Idenau, to Limbe where it was kept in the morgue and later buried.
The abducted delegates who were later killed include Elvis Mambe Ebaku of State Property, Land Tenure, and Surveys; Felicia Ndong, Delegate of Housing and Urban Development; Emmanuel Elad of Water and Energy Resources; Christian Mbida Armand of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft; Stephen Agbor Nyenty, Divisional Chief of Service for Surveys; and Johnson Mabia Mudika of Economy, Planning and Regional Development.
The Divisional Delegates were taken while on a land demarcation mission to Misore Balue, Ekondo Titi, on June 15, 2021. From findings, it was established that the Delegates who were operating in the area considered a red zone in the crisis-ridden Region were sent to the field without security officers to guard them, thus, exposing them to the non-state armed groups operating in the Division.
At first, news circulated that the separatist commander who led the group that took the Delegates was demanding ransom for their release. In a statement, the self-styled “Commander 10 Kobo” said he was not interested in any ransom. “Ransom is not good because they want to use the money that they will send, to track us,” he said in a voice note circulated on social media. He rather promised to use the delegates to set an “example”. The surrendered Tamaya now says Commander 10 Kobo is now of late. He reportedly died from bullet wounds sustained after a battle with defence forces.
Speaking to Voice of America News, VOA, on Friday, June 18, 2021, Chris Anu, who was then the Secretary of State for Communication for the “Interim Government of Ambazonia”, confirmed that separatist fighters under his group’s command were keeping the six Divisional Delegates.
The action of the gunmen, as well as the government’s inability and failure to ensure the security of its Delegates in a conflict Region robbed the delegates of some of their entitled rights.
By dint of Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the state has the duty to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction their rights as citizens, including the guarantee of their safety from such acts like the abduction of the delegates.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in its Article 3 says, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and the security of person. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” It furthers in Article 5.
These rights were all denied the now-dead delegates by the government and the gunmen who took them.
Relating to some of the treatment given to the delegates, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, in its Article 5, says: “Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status. All forms of exploitation and degradation of man particularly slavery, slave trade, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited.”
Similarly, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in its Article 6 (1), states that “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” In the case of the six delegates, their lives were taken away by the abductors.
Even Cameroon’s Constitution, in its preamble, states, among other things, that: “Every person has a right to life, to physical and moral integrity and to humane treatment in all circumstances. Under no circumstances shall any person be subjected to torture, to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment”.
Though all local officials have failed to say anything or issue a statement on the issue since the confession from the ex-fighter, they had earlier condemned the act, especially when they learned of the killing of one of the victims. In a statement to the state-run Newspaper, Cameroon Tribune, Southwest Governor, Okalia Bilai, had called for calm, saying underground works were being initiated to secure the release of the state personnel. On his part, the Senior Divisional Officer for Ndian, Lawrence Nforwang, was quoted by media reports as having said he was communicating with the abducted divisional delegates who, he said, were being held in two separate camps. After news of the executions, the officials have been mute.
The Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, CHRDA, condemned the act orchestrated by the separatist fighters, saying it “is an abuse of human rights and a breach of International law, sanctioned by the International Convention against the Taking of Hostages, 1979”.
