Barrister Hippolyte Meli Tears into Paul Atanga Nji and the Regime Over Selective Release of Detainees

Prominent human rights lawyer Barrister Hippolyte BT Meli has launched a scathing attack on the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, accusing him and the regime he represents of trying to deceive the public with what he calls a “cosmetic and selective” release of detainees following the recent post-election crackdown.

The lawyer’s remarks came after Atanga Nji announced the release of about 60 minors who had been arrested during protests in Ngoundéré. While the government framed the move as a gesture of reconciliation, Meli dismissed it as a hollow public relations exercise, meant to create the illusion of progress while hundreds of others remain unlawfully detained, missing, or dead.

“What about the rest?” Barrister Meli questioned, in a tone that captured growing frustration among rights advocates. He said the government’s silence on the actual number of people arrested, detained, or disappeared is proof that it continues to act with impunity and without respect for the rule of law.

Meli accused Atanga Nji of being the intellectual author and chief architect of widespread human rights violations committed before, during, and after the October 12 presidential election. He said the minister directly oversaw and inspired mass arbitrary arrests, secret detentions, and the use of deadly force against peaceful protesters — abuses that, according to the lawyer, have been systematically covered up through military tribunals and administrative orders.

The human rights defender demanded a full public account of all detainees, including those missing or killed, and called for an official apology, compensation for victims, and punishment for all those who ordered or carried out abuses. He insisted that the government’s credibility, both at home and abroad, depends on its willingness to acknowledge wrongdoing and guarantee non-repetition.

For Meli, the release of 60 minors cannot be portrayed as an act of mercy or reform in a context where entire families are still searching for their loved ones. He stressed that the ongoing repression of dissent will only deepen mistrust and instability across the country.

“The solution is not military; it is political and legal,” he said. “Releasing a few detainees is not justice, it is a distraction. Cameroon needs truth, accountability, and the courage to confront its own failures.”

MMI News