Fears As Cameroon Incarcerates 5 Nigerian Pastors Over Officials’ Abduction
…Matter Not Within Our Purview – NiDCOM
Cameroonian government has arrested and detained five Nigerian pastors and some other residents living in the country’s Idabato II region, formerly known as the Bakassi Peninsula.
According to The Punch, the pastors’ detention followed the abduction of Ewane Roland, the community’s Divisional Officer who also doubles as the Cameroonian government’s representative in the area, by unknown gunmen on October 1.
Roland was reportedly abducted alongside Etongo Ismael, his associate, from their homes in Ndian in the country’s southwest region around 2am.
Both the official and his associate were said to have been subsequently whisked away by the men who came in a “flying boat”.
The kidnappers were later said to have also demanded a 1.9 billion FCFA ransom for Roland’s release on October 26.
Eniola Alabo, a Nigerian resident in the area, said the Cameroonian government blamed Nigerians living in Idabato II for Roland’s abduction and as a result deployed soldiers to arrest them.
“The Gendarmerie came to the community and started shooting sporadically into the air on the day they arrested some of these Nigerians,” Alabo said.
During the raid, some Nigerians with the names Iseoluwa Eniola, Feran Ajimosun, Idowu Ajimosun, Abiola Ajimosun, Blessing Ajimosun, Sunny Bassey, Feran Samagbeyi and one additional person who could only be identified as Godwin were arrested.
On October 8, Bernard Okalia, Cameroon’s South-West Governor, was said to have visited Idabato II, during which he declared a total lockdown of the area, issuing a 72-hour ultimatum to both Nigerian and Cameroonian residents in the region to produce both Roland and Etongo alive.
The lockdown reportedly led to shops and churches getting closed. Nigerians in the area, who were mostly fishermen, could not go about their fishing business.
“They stayed at home doing nothing for three weeks. The people were hungry because their source of livelihood was put on hold. They had to go out to eat,” Alabo said.
This then led to the inhabitants of the area leaving their homes to go about their daily activities.
The Nigerians’ action angered the Cameroonian authorities, who in turn deployed soldiers to arrest them between November 10 and 11.
Nigerians in the area decided to resume their normal daily activities and pastors in Idabato also thought it was okay to resume services on Sundays.
“Some soldiers invaded the Assembly Church of God in the area and arrested the Nigerian pastors there because they were told not to engage in any activities,” said Alabo.
“The names of the pastors arrested by Cameroonian soldiers that day were Adeleke Omoniye, Cascar Ubom, Etim Asuquo, Olamide Ayeye and Umoh Atete.”
Another Nigerian resident, who simply identified himself as Johnson, said the pastors were whisked away by the Cameroonian soldiers to unknown places.
“The Cameroonian soldiers took the pastors away,” Johnson said.
“A few days later, we heard that they have been released, but we’ve not seen them.
“We are in panic. The Cameroonian authorities have made life unbearable for Nigerians in Idabato. We have all the major tribes of Nigeria here. We have Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Efik, and other people.”
During the lockdown, Esther Okon, a Nigerian woman residing in the region, died after giving birth.
Okon, while in labour, could not be transported to the nearest hospital for proper medical attention as a result of the lockdown order. She was said to have bled to death after childbirth.
When the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) was contacted on the matter, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, its Head of Media, said the happening wasn’t the commission’s to handle.
“NiDCOM only engages in matters relating to Nigerian individuals in the diaspora,” Balogun said.
“This case is between two governments. It should be handled by the consular office.
“Moreover, I am not aware of the incident.”
Presently, over 200,000 Nigerians live in the Bakassi Peninsula.