Appeal court verdict on Ayuk Tabe & Co.: Ambazonia Interim Government vows to respond “appropriately, forcefully”

The Interim Government of the self proclaimed Federal Republic of Ambazonia has threatened to react “…appropriately and forcefully” to the verdict of the Centre Court of Appeal that upheld life sentences for Sisisku Ayuk Tabe Julius and nine leaders of Ambazonia.

In a statement issued Thursday, September 17, 2020 by Debney Yerima, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, the interim government expressed indignation over the fact that the court did not given room to defending lawyers and the legal representatives to defend their clients but summarily upheld the life in prison sentences handed down by the Yaounde military tribunal on the 20th of August 2019.

Describing the appeal court for the Centre region as a “Kangaroo Court”, the interim government says “…the court has upheld the sham judgment of the Military Tribunal of August 2019”.

To the interim government (IG), the Cameroon judicial service has not respected the verdict of the Abuja High Court in the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1st March 2019 that called for the repatriation of the leaders in detention stating that they were illegally kidnapped and taken to Cameroon.

In a release published by the communication and media committee for the defense of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe Julius and nine others, the presiding judge at the Centre Court of Appeal, His Lordship Mindjimba Mindjimba delivered “…the most scandalous judgment in legal history” by upholding the life in jail sentences.

In a release signed by the head of the communication and media team, Barrister Nicodemus Amungwa regrets that defending lawyers were not given the chance to defend their clients.
To him, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe Julius and nine others have never been allowed access to their lawyers since they were sentenced at the Yaounde military tribunal on August 20th 2019.

“The judge sacrificed his integrity. It was a travesty of justice. He spoke entirely in French, a language that our clients do not understand,” Bar. Nicodemus Amungwa lamented.

The defending lawyers say the physical appearance of their clients is poor regretting that no justice can be rendered to their clients in Cameroon.
Despite what they called “scandalous judgment”, defending lawyers are already bracing up to appeal the case in the Supreme Court of Cameroon.

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe Julius and nine other leaders were “kidnapped” in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria and taken to Cameroon in January 2018 on accusations of fueling terrorism in Cameroon.

By Mbatho Ntan