International Courant
A Cameroonian separatist chief has been arrested in Norway over his alleged function within the ongoing armed battle within the Central African nation.
Lucas Ayaba Cho was arrested on Tuesday on “expenses primarily based on his varied statements on social media,” his lawyer advised the BBC.
Cho is an influential determine within the English-speaking motion combating for independence in Cameroon, the place greater than 6,000 individuals have been killed and almost 1,000,000 displaced since combating started in 2016.
Some residents of the nation’s two English-speaking provinces say they face discrimination from the French-speaking majority.
Human rights group Amnesty Worldwide accuses each authorities forces and armed separatists of homicide, rape and torture of civilians.
A Cameroonian official advised the BBC that Norway and Cameroon have a safety settlement that states Cho could possibly be extradited within the coming days.
Cho, who describes himself as a liberation chief, is without doubt one of the most outstanding separatist leaders shaping the battle in Cameroon’s restive English-speaking areas.
The 52-year-old is head of the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC), a political wing of the Ambazonian Defence Forces (ADF), one of many armed teams looking for independence from Cameroon.
He leads his motion from his base in Norway, the place he’s believed to have just lately ordered a two-week lockdown as a part of the separatists’ marketing campaign to boycott faculties.
Identified for his powerful speak and difficult strategy, he got here underneath criticism after ADF fighters just lately attacked taxi drivers within the North West area and ordered them to vary the colour of their automobiles from yellow to white and blue – the colours of the flag of the deliberate breakaway state of Ambazonia. A few of those that refused noticed their automobiles burned.
Cho’s Ambazonia Governing Council has imposed a “liberation tax” that forces individuals dwelling within the restive English-speaking areas to pay a certain quantity to finance the battle with the federal government.
In January 2017, he claimed he had survived an assassination try after holding talks with different separatist leaders in Belgium.
His anti-institutional radicalism was not on show when the Anglophone disaster erupted in 2016. It’s a character trait that dates again to the Nineteen Nineties, when he was reportedly expelled from the College of Buea for collaborating in protests over a tuition price hike.
The Norwegian Nationwide Felony Investigation Service (KRIPOS) mentioned Cho “performed a central function in an ongoing armed battle in Cameroon”.
On Wednesday, Norwegian investigators requested the Oslo courtroom for his custody.
“We’re nonetheless at an early stage of the investigation and there are a number of investigative steps but to be taken,” mentioned Norwich District Legal professional Anette Berger.
If discovered responsible in Cameroon, Cho might withstand 30 years in jail.
Emmanuel Nsahlai, a US lawyer who represents victims of Cameroon’s Anglophone disaster, known as Cho’s arrest a “main victory” over separatist violence in Cameroon.
“This arrest is a vital step in holding him accountable for his actions and bringing justice to the victims of his violence,” mentioned Mr Nsahlai.
Cho isn’t the primary separatist chief to be arrested overseas in reference to the violence in Cameroon.
For the reason that battle broke out, the Cameroonian authorities has urged different nations internet hosting separatist leaders to return them to their dwelling nations to allow them to be tried for his or her roles within the ongoing violence.
In 2018, Julius Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the chief of the English-speaking separatist motion, and 46 others had been arrested in Nigeria and later extradited to Cameroon.
