Security forces stationed at Below Foncha, a neighborhood in Bamenda, North West region are said to have tortured some youths.
Our sources say, the soldiers accused them of being scammers.
“We were in a taxi coming from town. It all started when they asked us to alight from the taxi and show our phones,” explained one of the victims.
Unlike the others, he dropped his phone in the car but it was retrieved by the security officers who began lashing out on them.
“… They asked my brother to sit on the ground. I tried talking to him but the military man gave me a slap. My brother asked why he slapped me and he started beating him [the brother],” he explained, adding that the soldier kicked the brother three times in the head.
He narrated further that after the search, nothing was found in their phones but they were still compelled to pay for their freedom.
“… He collected money from us and said next time he will use a bullet on us.”
Today’s incident is one of multiple, often reported in the Anglophone regions of the country. Young men continue to be the primary target, and are tortured, harassed and extorted by security forces who accuse them of being scammers, sometimes just because they look neat or drive cars.
Despite multiple efforts by victims and rights bodies to seek an end to the phenomenon, authorities have chosen to remain mute.
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