Ayah Paul Abine, Advocate General of the Supreme Court and Chairman of the opposition Popular Action Party, PAP, has vowed not to offer any statement to his interrogators in his detention cell insisting that his arrest didn’t follow due judicial process, one of his defense counsels, Barrister Ndong Christopher has said.
“Ayah has no statement to offer to judicial officers who are his subordinates. He will only speak when he is charged in court or a panel of judges is constituted to hear him according to the regulations in force,” Barrister Ndong told The Cameroon Journal yesterday.
According to the lawyer, Ayah was not arrested, but abducted. He is arguing that the procedure to hear a sitting judge as outlined in the country’s Criminal Procedure Code was not followed.
We learned when a team of investigating officers visited Ayah for questioning two days after he was arrested, he said he was not going to utter any statement.
The team was comprised of a representative of the judicial police, a representative from the Ministry of Justice, a representative of the military prosecutor, and a personnel of the Secretariat of State for Defense in charge of the National Gendarmerie, SED.
Ayah is quoted as saying he could not be talking to junior judicial officers he is supposed to be schooling. He said what mattered to him at that moment was his health.
Barrister Ndong said Ayah will only talk when the Attorney General of the Supreme Court constitutes a panel of three judges equal or superior to their client’s rank. Should that not happen, the defense counsel added, then Ayah will talk only in court.
“We don’t yet know the person who ordered for our client’s arrest, nor the charges against him. He is steadfast to remain mute…If they continue in illegality, they will take him to the military prosecutor where he won’t still talk. He will only do the talking when the matter is pushed to court,” the barrister-at-law explained.
Military Tribunal officials nor Gendarmerie Headquarters officials, who effected the arrest, were not readily available for comments.
Ayah’s charges have not yet been made known, but like the other arrested Anglophone dissenters, he will apparently be charged for inciting the public to revolt, insurrection, propagation of false information, advocating secession, amongst others.
It should be recalled Ayah was whisked off by armed security men and taken to detention after he first resisted being taken away by Gendarmerie elements from Secretariat of State for Defense in charge of the National Gendarmerie, SED. His arrest came in the wake of a crackdown by the government on Anglophone personalities in the North West and South West Regions.
Many Anglophone and Francophone lawyers have grouped themselves to freely defend Anglophone elite who will be charged to court in relation to the ongoing crisis.
By Amindeh Blaise
Culled from Cameroon Journal
3 comments
Mr. former prime minister and slave and traitor to the anglephone community we have heard your cry. But where are our parents, brothers and sisters in detension cells in Yaounde are they not free citizens like you. You could talk freely and no one has arrest, rape or militarized you instead they could guard you just because you are scrashing their back and they are scrashing yours. protection is a millitary right to all not to individuals when they where raping our sisters where you blind or deaf. Brother go preach that gospel to members of your family which have ripe from your harvest we are jointly crying the common man cry not the cry of a small group of Anglephones in the nation capital who have loss their sense of belonging. Friend keep preaching the current prime minister just left the pulpit for you congrate for your message when you are done you can hand it to another. if you can read the writings we want equality through federalization to stop marginalization. we wish you safe jurney as you return to La Republique.
Bro,
Why are you even responding to this stupid man of Prime Minister!!!!!!!!! They give nothing for the youth, only for them, see his age !!! God forgive me…… I better shut up, let wipe all these fools during elections….We will vote for young people just to give them secular hypertension…….
BREAKING NEWS
I Never Initiated A Strike, I Will Not Be The One To Call It Off-PCC Moderator
The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, PCC, Right. Rev. Samuel Fonki Forba has however appealed on the Government to release all Anglophone leaders of the Outlawed Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, CACSC and the possible resumption of Classes in the two English Speaking Regions of the country.
The Post Weekender reports that Rt. Rev Samuel Fonki was speaking at a Press Conference held in Bamenda, North West region after the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees Meeting of the PCC.
The Newspaper further reveals that the Moderator and 13 other Executives signed a two-page Press Statement proposing that Amnesty be given to all those who were arrested and detained in the wake of crisis rocking the two regions.
The PCC Moderator is quoted as saying, “We want those arrested because of their political ideologies and those detained because of crimes committed within the period to be tried in the regions where they were arrested so that their rights to be cared for by family members and friends would be guaranteed.”
The PCC Moderator and his Executives also called on the State to end all arbitrary arrest and detention of persons from the two English Speaking regions.
They also suggested that the Government should comply with the decisions arrived at with Teachers during the Bamenda meeting of January to enable resumption of classes.
On the issue of suspension of the strike, the Moderator said, “I never initiated a strike action in the first place and I would not be the one to call it off. I am simply appealing on Stakeholders to do so. If Government schools are unable to resume classes, I don’t see how PCC schools can do so in isolation.”