Nigerian Lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) Wants DSS probed Over the Abduction of Ambazonian Leaders
NIGERIAN Human Rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, requesting him to investigate the abduction of the Southern Cameroonian leaders in Abuja, by the Department of State Service, DSS, the Vanguard has reported. Falana was speaking in a press conference yesterday in Abuja, haven been consulted to stand as lead Counsel for the arrested leaders.
In presenting his demands to the IGP, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, listed the names of the abducted leaders include; Dr. Julius Ayuk Tabe; Mr. Wilfred Tassang; Dr. Nfor Ngala Nfor; Professor Augustine Awasom; Dr. Cornelius Kwanga; Dr. Henry Kimeng; Elias Eyambe Esq; Nalova Bih Esq; Dr. Ojong Okongo; and Dr. Fidelis Nde Che.
BaretaNews, however notes that the number of the abducted had risen to 11 to include; Blaise Berinyuy, Esq.
It is necessary to state that these leaders were abducted at Nera Hotel, Abuja on Friday, January 5, 2018, after they arrived for a meeting on how to mobilise resources for the more than 28 000 Ambazonian refugees currently spread across three states in Nigeria, notably; Cross River, Benue and Taraba.
Falana, also demanded for the immediate release of the Ambazonian leaders within 48 hours or they be charged to court, noting that;
“if our clients are not released from illegal custody or arraigned in court within 48 hours of the receipt of this letter we shall not hesitate to apply to the Federal High Court to secure the enforcement of their fundamental rights to personal liberty guaranteed by Section 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap A9 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
According to Falana’s petition, the abducted are leaders of the movement agitating for the creation of the Republic of Ambazonia in Cameroon and “not illegal immigrants in Nigeria as some of them have been granted political asylum by the Federal Government while others have valid permanent resident status in Nigeria apart from Professor Augustine Awasom who is a United States citizen. Our clients were assembled for a meeting at Nera Hotel, Abuja on Saturday, January 6, 2018.
”However, before the commencement of the meeting a team of armed operatives of the State Security Service invaded the venue, abducted our clients and took them away to an undisclosed place. The said abduction was reported by the Premium Times edition of Sunday, January 7, 2018. In spite of the detailed report of the credible online news medium the State Security Service has denied knowledge of the abduction of our clients. Consequently, all efforts made by the counsel and family members of our clients to visit them in custody have proved abortive.”
From every indication, Ambazonians are going to the courts in Nigeria and it will be another opportunity for La Republic du Cameroun to proof her sovereignty over Ambazonia. Is this even necessary when there is already an existing judgment by the same court to that effect?
As the legal team battles for the release of the President of the Interim Government of Ambazonia, Sissiku Ayuk-Tabe, and his collaborators, they must also consider requesting the courts to compel the Federal Government of Nigeria, to enforce the court judgement of 2002 by Justice Roselyn Ukeji on this same matter.
The heat must be on LRC from every angle to ensure that they bow and end their illegal occupation of Ambazonia or they present an Act of Union between the two Cameroons to validate their territorial claim.Come rain, come shine, Ambazonia shall be free and Ambazonians shall live in freedoms.
James Agbor, BaretaNews Political Analyst
5 comments
HI Baretta, this is very interesting. No smoke without fire.
the investigation must be requested and we must ensure the Nigerian Government sign to protect our people or pay heavily for the inhuman treatment of our leaders.
The coup was well planned but they failed: why did the Hotel not inform the police headquarters of such an operation? why did the Said DSS refused being involved, why is the minister of foreign affairs acknowledging now and not before, why were our leaders’ where about and communication cut off, why was lrc celebrating and announcing their presence in Yaounde, is a call for questioning of any citizen or foreigner operated through armed abduction in Nigeria?….. the Nigerian state must deal with this dirty business and punish the individuals who used the state institution to make money from la republic.
We thank them in disguise for their foolishness and their action which has propelled the struggle to another level leaving the Ambazonians more united than ever for the common purpose. God bless Ambazonia.
TERRORIST ARE ARRESTED EVEN U.S.A CANNOT DEFEND YOU ON THIS CASES, THEY HAVE KILLED PEOPLE IN CAMEROON, WE HAVE PROOF OF THEIR TERRORISTS GROUP ACTIONS, YOU ERU POLITICIANS PUT THIS IN YOUR BRAIN, YOU REFUSED TO ASSOCIATE WITH FRANCOPHONES TO KICK BIYA OUT AND BUILD A MARVELOUS COUNTRY, NOW HE IS MORE POWERFUL, BECAUSE YOU USE ”FRANCOPHONE” WORD TO FIGHT FOR SOMETHING EVERY CAMEROONIAN IS SUFFERING, WELL WE HATE BIYA BUT WE LOVE ONE CAMEROON WITH BAKASSI WE DEAD FOR IN IT, STOP SCREAMING YOUR BETRAYAL ALLOWED US TO SELL ALL THE BAKASSI RESOURCES IN DEAL WITH AMERICA AND THEY GAVE US SISIKU TROPHY RIGHT ACTUALLY SLEEPING WITH BIYA’S DOGS IN ETOUDI, AGAIN YOU IDIOTS CANNOT FIGHT AGAINST FRANCE AND CALL ENGLAND FOR HELP, STUPIDS NEGRO…WHITES ARE UNITED ON OUR RESOURCES, SO YOU GUYS SIT DOWN AN LISTEN TO ME : IN 1960 ENGLAND AND FRANCE SHARED OIL RESOURCES BOTH SIDE NIGERIA AND SOUTHERN CAMEROON, AND IT WAS OK FOR THEM, SO DONT THINK YOU WILL EVER BE INDEPENDENT BY FIGHTING THEM, YOU WILL NEVER HAVE BACK FORCES TO SUPPORT YOU, AND YOUR INTERNET DONATIONS WILL NEVER BUY A TANK OR KALACHNIKOV, ITS JUST IN CASE IF YAOUNDE GOVERNMENT REFUSE TO OBEY FRANCE, BUT THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN, THAT IS WHY FRU NDI NEVER WON , BECAUSE HE WAS FIGHTING FRANCE. WHO TOLD YOU WHITES MEN WILL FORGET HIS INTEREST FOR YOUR PRETTY EYES, FOR SISIKU CASE IT CANT BE ANNOUNCED THAT HE IS IN YAOUNDE, SO CULPRIT’S LAWYERS CAN SHOW UP, HIS BALLS WILL BE TORTURED TO GET THE MAXIMUM OF INFOS, AND THOSE WHO ARE ABROAD AND AMERICA SHOWING THEIR BIG MOUTH ON INTERNET, WE HAVE A LONG LIST IN EMBASSIES, YOU CAN CONSIDER TO SPEND THE REST OF UR LIFE ON ”INTERNET AMBAZONIA” BECAUSE YOU CANT SEE YOUR FAMILY IN CAMEROON OR STEP YOUR FEETS ANYMORE, NOR IN NIGERIA, CHAD OR GABON TO TRYNNA GET IN CAMEROON NEVER !!! AND WHO EVER TAKE THE LEAD WILL FOLLOW AMBAZONIAN PRESIDENT, THE 1ST ONE LIVE IN YAOUNDE NOW . ANYWAY YOU GUYS CAN TRANSFORM YOUR AREA INTO PALESTINIAN AREA NOBODY WILL SUFFER FROM IT MORE THAN YOU !
Nigeria buhari must never be trusted! this is very serious matter of concern! SCs must be careful not to keep thanking Nigeria in social media and public speeches because what they have done is not acceptable to allow a abduction of respectable group of people seeking freedom from a brutal dictator in their country, again the Nigerian government is as silence as lrc government,no one in that government has set the record about their whereabouts in almost a week,they are trying to scare and weaken the struggle, this would never happen in a civilised country, again at this moment there is a lot of speculation going on in social media,no one knows the state they are in, the IG must act swiftly by appointing temporary replacements of all the abductees to continue with the message of Independence/ Buea ,to show lrc, Nigeria and the world that patriotic SCs means business and no one person or handful of individual of people is bigger than the will of the majority of patriotic SCs, many freedom fighters on the ground must never loose sight!the IG must make swift structural reorganisation to carry on leadership to intensify the struggle for revenge!!
Paul Biya looks like death itself.
It saddens me that the Nigerian government will decide to arrest these individual, who have done nothing wrong, and hand them over to a genocidal regime under Paul Biya of Cameroon. These individuals will be torture and will be lucky to come out alive.
Well, this comes to remind us that President Buhari is not a democrat at heart and has never converted to democracy; he is just a brutal military man dressed in civilian clothing.
NIGERIANS living in Ambazonia land.Ask you President to liberate our leaders,or else we too will start abducting you people one after the one. Our crisis will be partly shifted to you people.
You know what you are gaining in our land. Its high time for you people to stage a match to your Mr. Ambassador in Buea.
P.N JONN