Five Nigerian pastors and others residing in the Idabato II community of Cameroon, formerly known as the Bakassi Peninsula, have been arrested and detained by the Cameroonian authorities.
Their detention followed the kidnap of the community’s Divisional Officer, Ewane Roland, by armed men in early October.
A former chairman of the Yoruba community in the defunct Bakassi Peninsula, Eniola Alabo, disclosed this to The PUNCH during an interview.
Local media had reported that Roland, alongside another official of the council, Etongo Ismaeil, was whisked away on October 1, 2024, by gunmen who used a flying boat in the coastal area.
According to Alabo, the Cameroonian government blamed Nigerians in the area for Roland’s abduction and 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.
The man explained that his compatriots in the troubled community called and explained that the incident had plunged them into panic and anxiety in the border town.
During the raid, some Nigerians, including Iseoluwa Eniola, Feran Ajimosun, Idowu Ajimosun, Abiola Ajimosun, Blessing Ajimosun, Sunny Bassey, Feran Samagbeyi, and Godwin were detained in Idabato II.
Governor locks down community
It was gathered that Cameroon’s South-West Governor, Bernard Okalia, visited Idabato on October 8, 2024.
He was said to have declared a total lockdown of the area, which had mostly Nigerians who were fishermen.
Okalia was said to have issued a 72-hour ultimatum to both Nigerians and Cameroonians in the community to produce Roland alive.
A clip of the visit, obtained by The PUNCH, showed him saying, “All shops are closed…the churches are closed till further notice. No exit, no entry in this whole Idabato.”
Alabo said Nigerians in the community were rendered economically handicapped, leading to hunger and frustration.
Residents, however, reportedly defied the governor’s order in the first week of November to 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.
The action was said to have angered the Cameroonian authorities, who deployed soldiers in Idabato on the 10th and 11th of November 2024 to arrest Nigerians in the community.
According to Alabo, the soldiers invaded the community and started shooting sporadically in the air, which made many Nigerians suffer varying degrees of injury.
Pastors arrested
During the lockdown imposed on Nigerians in Idabato II, churches were also locked.
But when Nigerians began attending to their normal activities, churches also opened on Sunday to Christians.
“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,” the Bakassi Peninsula ex-leader said.
“The names of the pastors arrested by Cameroonian soldiers that day were Adeleke Omoniye, Cascar Ubom, Etim Asuquo, Olamide Ayeye, and Umoh Atete.”
Buttressing the claims, one of the Nigerian leaders in Idabato, who identified himself as Johnson for security reasons, said the lives of the pastors were in danger.
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.”
The source also said the incident forced many people to relocate to neighbouring communities in Akwa Ibom and Cross River.
“We are in panic,” the source revealed. “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.”
Woman dies
During the lockdown, a Nigerian woman, Esther Okon died after giving birth to a baby on the 20th of October, 2024.
Okon reportedly bled to death after giving birth as she could not receive any medical treatment from the hospital.
One of the executives of the Nigerian Union in Idabato, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed this, adding that the woman had been in labour since 19th October.
The source said Okon would not have died if she had been transported to Ibaka in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State but there was no movement.
“It takes only two hours by a speedboat but if we see a flying boat, it is just 45 minutes to get her to Akwa Ibom,” the source said.
Confirming the incident, another Nigerian man, who claimed to be Okon’s husband’s friend and did not disclose his identity for security reasons, said her corpse was repatriated to Nigeria after some documents were signed with the Cameroonian authorities.
“The corpse was taken to Ibaka in Nigeria after her husband signed some papers with the Cameroonian government,” the source said.
Tax payments
One of the problems causing conflicts between the Cameroonian authorities and Nigerians in Idabato is the payment of taxes.
The authorities had accused Nigerian nationals in Idabato of evading taxes but proof of adherence to the payment of taxes was shown to them on many occasions, Johnson said.
“We have documents like receipts issued to us as evidence after the payments of taxes. It is called global tax collected annually,” the source added.
The PUNCH gathered that some of the taxes might not have been remitted to appropriate quarters.
Failed interventions
When asked about the possible intervention of the offices of Consulate-Generals of the two West African countries, the Nigerian nationals said their efforts had not yielded results.
“I have gone to the office of the Consulate-General of Cameroon in Nigeria, but nothing happened. I was not allowed to see the woman. I learned that she is a new person appointed,” Alabo said.
All efforts to reach the Consulate-General of Cameroon in Nigeria were futile as both numbers and email addresses on their website appeared dormant as of the time of filing this report.
NiDCOM reaction
Meanwhile, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission disclosed to The PUNCH that the matter was for the consular division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to handle.
While explaining why it was not in the jurisdiction of the NiDCOM, the commission’s Head of Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun said the issue now involved Nigeria and Cameroon.
“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,” NiDCOM spokesman added.
The efforts to reach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerning the issue did not yield result as the number was not connecting.
A message was sent to the email address of the ministry but there was no response as of the time of filing this report.
In 2002, the International Court of Justice awarded the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon.
On June 12, 2006, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Cameroonian President Paul Biya signed the Greentree Agreement, which outlined the withdrawal of Nigerian troops and transfer of authority.
Some Nigerians left the community to move to the coastal areas belonging to Nigerian states namely Cross River and Akwa Ibom.
Meanwhile, about 50,000 Nigerians are still residents of the Bakassi Peninsula, claiming that the now Idabato community remains their ancestral home despite being under the control of Cameroon.
PUNCH