Displaced Upper Bayang Residents Return Home Following Capture of Ako Giant

Some internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled Upper Bayang in Cameroon’s Manyu Division, located in the South West Region of Cameroon, are now beginning to return to their homes. This movement back to their villages comes in the wake of the capture of the infamous self-styled Amba ‘General’, Ako Giant, who had instilled fear and chaos in the locality.

According to locals interviewed by MMI, a sense of calm has descended upon the villages of Upper Bayang following the capture of Ako Giant by a local vigilante group, with assistance from the Nigerian Army. The affected villages include Amebisu, Ayukaba, Bakumba, Manto, and Anjaki, all situated in the Betieku Clan of Upper Bayang.

“The people have been able to go back since they heard about the capture of Ako Giant, even though some people have stayed back. However, I know that most of them will go back now,” said one local resident to MMI.

For years, Ako Giant had inflicted terror upon these communities as the crisis in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions escalated. He imposed extortionate taxes on villages, with contributions running into millions of FCFA. In February of this year, he escalated his demands, demanding 5 million FCFA per village, a burden that became increasingly difficult for the already struggling population to bear.

The situation reached a critical point when Ako Giant resorted to violence, killing and kidnapping villagers, even threatening to bury them alive if his demands were not met. Distress calls were made, and videos showed residents fleeing for safety, begging for government intervention to save them from the onslaught.

After a day of MMI publishing their calls for help, the Cameroonian military intervened, engaging in clashes with Ambazonia fighters, resulting in the deaths of four of them, with one civilian sadly losing their life in the process. However, Ako Giant managed to evade capture.

Ako Giant’s reign of terror recently came to an end when the local vigilante group in Ukwa village, close to the Nigeria-Cameroon border, captured him. He was intercepted as he attempted to flee into Nigeria, with the assistance of the Nigerian military.

Contrary to earlier reports, it was not the Cameroonian military but the local vigilantes who succeeded in capturing Ako Giant, a fact clarified by video evidence showing the Nigerian military alongside the vigilante group handing over the captured militant to Cameroonian authorities.

However, despite Ako Giant’s capture, the aftermath of his violence persists. Many displaced residents sought refuge in Widikum, located in the Momo Division of Cameroon’s North West region. The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that about 3,000 people were forced to flee their homes in the Upper Bayang subdivision due to violence between February 16 and 26.

The UN further noted that some houses were burned down by non-state armed groups (NSAGs), and armed clashes between State Security Forces (SSFs) and NSAGs led to additional displacements, spilling over into neighboring areas like Widikum.

While some displaced populations found refuge in surrounding bushes or neighbouring villages, others were hosted in Widikum and Mamfe. Emergency responses, including first-aid, psychosocial support, nutrition services, and the distribution of non-food items, were provided.

Despite these ongoing challenges, sources on the ground report a return to serenity, prompting displaced persons to contemplate returning to their villages. This episode in Upper Bayang is just one of the many tragedies that have beset Cameroon’s North West and South West regions since the onset of the Anglophone crisis, which escalated into an armed conflict in 2017.

According to UN figures, the conflict has resulted in over 6,000 deaths and the internal and external displacement of over a million people, along with widespread destruction of property.

Mimi Mefo Info