Gbagbo was the President of Côte d’Ivoire from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011. His trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague began on 28 January 2016, where he denied all charges against him; crimes against humanity including murder, rape, and persecution.

The main opposition party in Cameroon, the SDF during their National Executive Committee meeting on Saturday, 30th July 2016 approved a resolution to start a petition campaign for the release of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo. The resolution states that Gbagbo’s arrest was unfair, unjust, and unsustainable

According to the petition, SDF leader, John Fru Ndi, calls for the “immediate release of President Gbagbo,” who stands trial at the Hague-based court for his alleged crimes against humanity in the aftermath of Côte d’Ivoire’s November 2010 presidential elections.

“Everyone knows that Africans in general and Cameroonians, in particular, are against the violation of justice that is perpetrated by the UN system through the International Criminal Justice to President Laurent Gbagbo,” Fru Ndi notes.

“The world has been torn apart by carefully carved schemes of crimes against humanity in the Middle East and North Africa, yet, the well-known perpetrators are not part of the ICC’s agenda.” Fru Ndi, 75, notes that “any decision taken by the Hague will be void of any legitimacy.”

The petition seeks to target 2000 signatures. Already, BaretaNews notes that the petition signing has already begun.

Although critics pointed out that the SDF has been slow to point out the unlawful arrests of statesmen in Cameroon by President Paul Biya, others claimed that the ICC has outstretched its limits.Tapang Ivo wrote.

“They practice selective justice. More than 8000 files have petitioned to the ICC from across the world, but all the persons they are now trying come from Africa,” Atanga Belmondo Achiri, SDF youth leader for South Africa notes. “Is that that how justice is done? Are Africans alone that bad?”

BaretaNews notes that Paul Biya regime has perpetuated violence and torture against Cameroonians who seek the restoration of Southern Cameroons Statehood, Fru Ndi and SDF has never come to the aid of these persons though it is their right to self-determination. Should Cameroonians support Fru Ndi in this venture?

God is still saying something.