A Journalist working with Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV), Njeck Sylvanus has been accused of financial blackmail. Njeck is accused of Financial blackmail by the family of the Limbe City Council 1st Deputy Mayor, Karen Nora Muto Tanga. Based on the phone conversation MMI has seen, Njeck is demanding 10 million FCFA from Wouapit Roland, husband of Karen Nora.
“I want to request you to pay me 10 million so that the case can be cancelled. …I have strong people above who will make your wife go to jail. I want that money before the next court hearing,” Njeck said in a text message to Wouapit.
This is not the only amount Njeck Sylvanus has been demanding. Before demanding the 10 million for Karen Nora not to do time, he is alleged to have collected some money before.
The Genesis
It all started in January 2022 when Karen Nora Muto Tanga, acting City Mayor of Limbe City Council then. On January 8, 2022, Karen in her capacity as acting City Mayor, received a call from the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure. The Ministry said the minister wanted to contract Karen to do a job for them.
The job of 15 million FCFA was for Karen to promote and market the Tourist sites in Limbe, Buea and other surroundings. That was because of Afcon 2021 which took place in January 2022.
“The Ministry of Tourism and Leisure called me and said the minister has given a job for me to do for them, to be an extended arm of the ministry whereby they are giving the money for me to do the job and report back to them. I asked them, why won’t you send the money directly to the coffers of the City council? Why call me to collect cash? They said it was because it was not the job of the city council. It is the job of the ministry, but you have to do the job because the minister wants you to do it,” she told MMI from Limbe.
How She was Chosen
“The ministry said I was the last person to take this money, all the other councils that are hosting AFCON have collected. I said why? They said since we have been looking for your number, but it is the secretary General who has come severally to collect the money since Motanga is not there, we knew but Motanga. The Secretary-General has come here severally to collect the money, but the minister insisted that it should be an elected official. So after finding your number, that is how we called you.” She added.
On January 14, the Ministry and the City Council signed a partnership agreement. MMI reviewed the five-page document. The convention extended 15 million to her and clearly outlined what she needed to do. It specified that any legal matters should be handled by a court in Yaounde.
The Minister, Bello Bouba Maigari, who signed on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism, said the City Mayor should contract a national media to produce videos to promote tourism sites in Limbe, Buea and the surrounding.
Njeck Comes Into Play
Karen told MMI that when she received the money, she had inquired about how to go about it from journalists.
“When I came down to Limbe, the next day, I had an interview with CRTV. Some people were in my office, and I was just asking them. I throw out to them that see this convention which the ministry has given to me and the money, I don’t know who to start from. I don’t know where to start from,” she said.
This question was in line with the contract which stipulated that the city council hire a national media outlet to produce promotional materials. Karen recalls seeking advice from journalists on how to execute the project.
“That is when one of the team members, Njeck Sylvanus piped up up and said ‘Madam, I can help you with that’. So, I took it as good faith that there was a young man, you know I am there trying to promote the youth, and I said okay, no problem. But I said the ministry told me that everything should be under a state media-recognised house. It should not be something that is private stuff. He said yes, he is with CRTV,” She told MMI.
Agreement
According to her, when Njeck saw the partnership agreement, he said out of the things that were listed, he could do a six-minute video showcasing tourism. Karen said she trusted Njeck, and they came to a price of three million FCFA based on the opinion of others he asked.
Karen stated to MMI that she did know how the media works and that is why she was entrusting the contract to Njeck out of goodwill.
According to her, since she was busy as she had to handle several things that same day, she entered into a verbal agreement with Njeck; she sent her husband, Wouapit Roland, to hand 800,000 FCFA to Njeck.
“Two days later, he came to my office with a document from a private company. And I told him, I asked you that it should have the letterhead of CRTV.” She said.
Njeck as CEO of CIPMA
The company which Njeck to her was Cameroon Premier Marketing Agency (CIPMA)
According to Njeck’s Facebook Page, he is the CEO of CIPMA. MMI checked the CIPMA account on Facebook, and found it was last updated in December 2021. Njeck allegedly asked Karen to sign the contract after their verbal agreement that he would bring a deal under CRTV. Since CIPMA lacked recognition, Karen could not continue.
Karen stated that Njeck would work under the city council due to the money given to him, rather than under the contract of the Ministry of Tourism.
“But I will need you to bring your tax documents because, without that, I cannot continue with you,” she told Njeck.
“When he left the office, I thought we had an agreement; I was still finding someone who could help. That is when someone mentioned Bony Dashaco’s name.” She added.
Dashaco Delivers the Job
Since Afcon was at hand and Njeck could not deliver, she went to Dashaco’s Company, which did the job. MMI has seen the invoice of which 15 million FCFA given by the ministry is being paid to Outcom Africa. Dashaco contracted CRTV, Canal2, Dash TV, Equinox and three radios to do the job. She paid that; meanwhile, Njeck had taken 800 thousand, which she now considered as her losses.
“The ministry said media companies in Cameroon are recognised LD by the state, and what Njeck Sylvanus brought to me is something I have never heard of, something called CIPMA. I have never heard of that” she said.
According to her, Njeck, apart from not paying taxes, had not registered the company then.
“Because I had already engaged with him, I said I can’t let him hanging like that. However, I advised him to go to taxation and register his documents as agreed. I told Njeck that when you regularized your situation with the city council, you could give me back my money. That was the plan.”
Karen said after the AFCON, he came and told her that the people whom he worked with were on his neck, and they were threatening him.
“From my understanding, the same people he came for an interview are probably those working with him. I don’t know why he wanted it done privately and not as CRTV” she told MMI.
The Alleged Blackmail Scheme
Njeck allegedly started recording their conversation and started contacting her husband. Claimed his colleague wanted to jail him. So, Karen promised to give Njeck some money to shield him from jail. But Njeck said the people want collateral. Then he collected a car of a friend from her compound. To her, there was already a plan behind the whole thing when Njeck to the the Toyota car. Before that, Njeck had demanded 1.5 million FCFA, which is what his colleagues were asking.
“Since I was out of the country then, Njeck came and collected the money 1.5 million FCFA in Limbe and wrote on the paper that I still owe her 2.5 million FCFA.” She said.
So in Total, Njeck has taken 2.3 million FCFA from her. To release the car which he had taken to Buea, Njeck demanded 1.4 million FCFA.
“I don’t know who this thing turned from a deal with Njeck Sylvanus, AFCON and City Council to an attack against my husband,”, she said.
Authorities arrested her husband and took him to Buea based on Njeck Sylvanus’s claim that he was carrying arms and involved with Amba.
Njeck and his people had it broadcast on Equinox, and Karen threatened to sue Equinox and as such, Equinox relieved Derick Kato, Buea correspondent, off duty.
Njeck allegedly said the police are his people, and he can control them. Through that arrest, Njeck again collected 500 thousand FCFA added to the 2.3 million FCFA he had collected. This blackmail is allegedly still ongoing at the time of this report.
From what Karen told MMI, they are not the only people who Njeck is blackmailing. They said he has also blackmail a certain chief whom MMI can’t reveal his Identity because we have not yet confirmed the story.
Njeck Refuses to Respond to MMI
MMI reached out to Njeck Sylvanus by WhatsApp on the 31st October, 2024 with a series of 14 questions to help him provide his own version of events. He rather requested an interview.
“Good morning to you and thank you for reaching out pls I will like us to have an interview,” he wrote. Our reporter accepted that option and emphasised the need for written responses to ensure all questions received answers. Njeck instead asked if they were in Cameroon.
He did not respond further and a reminder on December 3rd 2024, yielded no response, despite him reading the message.
Jeanne Ndome contributed to this report
