News
Cameroon Opposition Leader Slams Biya, Calls Re-Election “Masquerade” As Protest Rages On
- /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 27
https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/4e5ffcba-2c95-41b0-82fd-4c82d81d19c3.jpeg&description=Cameroon Opposition Leader Slams Biya, Calls Re-Election “Masquerade” As Protest Rages On', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
- Share
- Tweet /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/plugins/mvp-social-buttons/mvp-social-buttons.php on line 72
https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/4e5ffcba-2c95-41b0-82fd-4c82d81d19c3.jpeg&description=Cameroon Opposition Leader Slams Biya, Calls Re-Election “Masquerade” As Protest Rages On', 'pinterestShare', 'width=750,height=350'); return false;" title="Pin This Post">
By Prosper Olayiwola
Cameroon’s veteran ruler, Paul Biya, has secured an eighth term in office, extending his more than four decades in power — but his main rival, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, has rejected the results, describing the election as a “masquerade.”
The country’s Constitutional Council on Monday declared Biya, 92, winner of the October 12 presidential election with 53.7 percent of the vote.
His closest challenger, Issa Tchiroma Bakary of the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon (FNSC), finished second with 35.2 percent.
There was no election; it was rather a masquerade. We won unequivocally,” Tchiroma told AFP shortly after the announcement.
The opposition leader, a former government minister, had claimed victory two days after the polls closed and urged his supporters to take to the streets in protest.
Tensions have since escalated. A rally outside Tchiroma’s home in Garoua, northern Cameroon, reportedly turned violent, leaving two protesters dead, according to the opposition figure.
He alleged that ten snipers were posted on rooftops.
An AFP reporter confirmed witnessing one man being shot but could not verify his death.
In the economic capital, Douala, at least four people were killed on Sunday when security forces clashed with opposition supporters, according to the regional governor.
Witnesses said police initially fired tear gas before using live ammunition to disperse the crowd.
The official voter turnout was 46.3 percent, as the nation awaited the results for over two weeks amid heightened political tension and security crackdowns.
Other contenders, including Cabral Libii (3.4 percent), Bello Bouba Maigari (2.5 percent), and Hermine Patricia Tomaino Ndam Njoya (1.7 percent)— the only female candidate—trailed far behind.
Meanwhile, eight remaining candidates each received less than one percent of the vote.
Public gatherings have been prohibited and traffic movement restricted across most major cities since polling day.
However, beginning last week, supporters of Tchiroma have flooded the streets to defend his self-declared victory.
According to his own vote count, Tchiroma claimed to have secured 54.8 percent of the ballots, compared to 31.3 percent for President Paul Biya.
In a speech last Wednesday, he reaffirmed his confidence in winning the election and urged Cameroonians to protest if the Constitutional Council released what he described as “falsified and distorted results.”
By early Monday morning, police and security forces had been deployed at key intersections and strategic locations throughout the capital, Yaoundé.
In Garoua, a protester waving the Cameroonian flag approached police officers during a gathering on October 26, 2025.
Authorities said the deployment was meant to “ensure the security of the electoral process and prevent any disorder.”
Fearing possible clashes, many shops and petrol stations remained closed, and traffic was noticeably sparse.
Despite the growing unrest, most political observers predicted another seven-year term for Biya, in what critics describe as a tightly controlled system.
Biya, who has ruled Cameroon with an iron grip since succeeding the country’s first post-independence leader in 1960, has long faced accusations of repressing dissent, crushing opposition movements, and clinging to power amid social tension, economic hardship, and separatist conflict.
Tchiroma, in his campaign manifesto, pledged a three- to five-year transitional government aimed at rebuilding what he called a nation “ruined by Biya’s decades in power.”
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, has slashed its fuel pump price for the second time within four days.
A market survey on Saturday by DAILY POST showed that NNPCL retail outlets around Airport Junction and Wuse Zone 6 (Berger) in Abuja have reduced their petrol price to N1210 per litre, down from N1260.
This means that the state-owned oil firm slashed the petrol price by N50 per litre.
This comes barely two days after Dangote Refinery reduced its petrol gantry price by N50 to N1,125 per litre.
Recall that four days ago, NNPCL had adjusted its fuel price pump by N75 per litre to N1260.
With the latest drop by NNPCL retail outlets, petrol prices stand between N1210 per litre and N1305 per litre in Abuja and its environs.
The reduction in domestic fuel comes amid falling crude oil prices, which stand at $69 per barrel and $71 per barrel for West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude, respectively, following the easing of the conflict in the Middle East.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu has kept mum amid the clamour by Nigerians for a commensurate drop in domestic fuel pump prices due to the significant reduction in crude oil prices.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said it is yet to receive the Certified True Copy, CTC, of the Federal High Court judgment that set aside an earlier order directing it to register the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, as a political party.
INEC revealed this in a statement issued on Saturday by its Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Chairman, Adedayo Oketola.
According to the commission, although it is aware of media reports on the judgment delivered by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja on June 26, it cannot comment on the ruling until it obtains and reviews the certified copy.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is aware of reports circulating in the media regarding the judgment delivered on Friday, June 26, 2026, by the Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, which set aside an earlier order concerning the registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
“However, as of this moment, the Commission has not yet received the Certified True Copy, CTC, of the court’s order,” the statement said.
INEC stated that its legal department would study the judgment upon receipt of the CTC before advising the commission on the next course of action.
“Once the Commission’s legal department receives and thoroughly studies the CTC of the judgment, INEC will take an informed, lawful decision in line with the court’s directives.
“Until then, we cannot comment on the specifics of the ruling, and the public is urged to await the Commission’s formal position on the matter,” Oketola added.
Justice Isah Dashen of the Federal High Court in Lokoja had on Friday set aside the court’s December 10, 2025, judgment directing INEC to register the NDC as a political party.
The court held that the rights of the Peace Movement Party were affected by the earlier judgment because it was not joined in the suit despite claiming ownership of the logo relied upon in securing the registration order.
Justice Dashen consequently ordered that all parties be restored to the positions they occupied before the December 2025 judgment and directed that the substantive suit be heard afresh with all necessary parties joined.
The NDC has rejected the ruling and announced plans to appeal the decision. Its National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, maintained that the party had not been deregistered and argued that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to revisit a matter on which it had already delivered a final judgment.
The ruling has also attracted reactions from opposition figures, including the NDC’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, the party’s National Leader, Senator Henry Dickson, and other stakeholders, who described the decision as a threat to Nigeria’s multiparty democracy and vowed to challenge it through all available legal channels.
INEC, however, maintained that it would reserve its position on the judgment until it receives and reviews the Certified True Copy.
A joint police operation rescued five victims abducted near Ogbere Forest in Ogun state on Wednesday.
They were rescued within 25 hours by the Lagos and Ogun Police Commands, which were part of a joint operation codenamed KOSAYE, meaning “No Space” in Yoruba.
The woman was among the victims who were shot in the incident. Her daughter and sister were among those rescued by the police on Thursday.
NNPC slashes petrol price twice within four days
Lokoja Court order: INEC speaks on NDC, says it’s yet to receive CTC
Just in: Police rescue five abductees in Ogun
-
News17 hours agoYou Clearly Didn’t Read the State Police Bill — Akpabio’s Aide Fires Back at Obi
-
News16 hours agoPeter Obi Reacts To court Ruling Nullifying NDC’s Registration
-
News16 hours agoMy Dad’s Wife Needs Money To Maintain Her Lavish Lifestyle- Mr. Ibu’s Son
-
Metro16 hours agoTwo killed in fresh Imo bomb explosion
-
News16 hours agoEdo CJ constitutes special court to try cultists, kidnappers
-
News16 hours agoArmy to recruit 28,000 additional soldiers to combat insecurity
-
Metro16 hours agoAlakija Building Collapse: Sanwo-Olu Directs Demolition Of Distressed Structures, Owner To Be Prosecuted
-
Entertainment16 hours agoNollywood Actor Joseph Momodu Joins US Army