Anglophone Crisis: Drivers say failure to provide security almost cost the live of their colleague in Bamenda

Some drivers plying the Bamenda-Fundong road have vowed never to listen to the Divisional Officer for Tubah to go against decisions taken by separatist fighters.

The drivers said their colleague by name Ndah Bernard almost lost his life because he listened to the Divisional Officer for Tubah’s call for them to ignore a separatist ban on the Bamenda-Fundong road and that there was enough security for them. But enough was not done to keep them safe, they told MMI.

“We thought he had long been killed given the tense atmosphere that has been the order. He was kidnapped in Belo by Separatists. When he was taken, the DO said nothing, a clear indication that the administrator thinks only about himself,” said Chia(not his real name).

We gathered that the family paid about 300,000FCFA as ransom to secure his release after spending close to a month in captivity, something his family is yet to confirm.

“He was accused of leading a convoy of transporters to Boyo despite the fact that there was a circulation ban on that road. He was the only one that was taken away and his car was set on fire,” said Chia.

The other vehicles are said to have returned to Bamenda.

After what Ndah went through, reports are indicating that many drivers have now said anyone listening to the administrators in Tubah and the region as a whole is doing so at their own risk.

They have also accused the DO of using them as testing rods to weigh the level of insecurity around that area.

Since then, the roads have remained impassable with only Cameroon military personnel using the roads though with a lot of caution.

By Soulemanu Bouba