1 Three students of PCHS Mankon Bamenda who were kidnapped early today have been released. Parents of the students each paid the sum of fifty thousand francs CFA to ensure their release. The students were heading to school this morning when people identified as “Amba boys” ambushed them at Catholic school Nghomham.
2 The national treasurer of the National Youth Council in Cameroon has been suspended indefinitely. In a decision signed Wednesday, September 25th by Mounouna Foutsou, Minister of Youth Affairs, Mbom Claude Michel was suspended indefinitely for poor conduct. He has been requested to hand over all documents and finances in his keeping. Note that the sanction follows Mbom Claude Michel’s action of seizing one million francs CFA from the hands of the second vice president during an audience at the Prime Minister’s office on the 17th of September.
3 Traditional rulers from Fako Division in the South West Region of Cameroon have reiterated their position on the discussion of the form of state. The custodians of tradition say a 10-state federation with elected governors is the best for Cameroon. They have, therefore, distanced themselves from the decentralisation stated by the governor of the South West as the position of people of the Region.
4 At the Prime Minister’s office today, traditional rulers from the North West Region called for inclusive dialogue to end the crisis. They were received in audience by PM Dion Ngute.
5 Villagers of Mokonje village have snubbed the government’s humanitarian assistance and humiliated the Divisional Officer for Kumba three. The villagers refused the gifts on the instruction of separatist fighters. The DO, Epolewane Verklin had no choice than take the goods back to Kumba. While in Mokonje, the DO called on Amba boys to lay their arms and participate in the national dialogue scheduled to start next week.
6 The Minister of Territorial Administration says Cameroon president Paul Biya’s next plan is to accompany internally displaced persons due to the anglophone crisis back to their towns and villages. Paul Atanga Nji while distributing humanitarian aid to IDPs in Bonaberi, Douala today said the national dialogue will solve the problem. Some IDPs say the items offered them as gifts cannot compensate for what they have lost in the war.
7 Five housemates of the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration centre in Buea in the South West region of Cameroon have arrived Yaoundé ahead of next week’s national dialogue. Some of them have been recounting how they were forced to join the fight for the restoration of Ambazonia statehood.
8 The spokesperson for the national dialogue has reassured the security of Ambazonia separatist leaders in the diaspora if they come to Yaoundé for the event. Dr George Ewane says the separatist will be free to participate, stay in Cameroon if they wish or travel back to Europe or other continents. The call comes when many say they suspect the government is playing a trick to arrest the activists for whom it had earlier issued an international arrest warrant.
9 At least seven people have been arrested in Nigeria’s Kaduna city in a rehabilitation school where children were tortured and abused. Over 400 boys are said have been chained for years, Nigerian police who freed them have said. The building housed an Islamic school. The school officials denied all the allegations.
10 A UN special envoy to Zimbabwe has urged the authorities to drop criminal charges against several civil society and union leaders, arrested for organising anti-government protests in January. Over a dozen people were killed in a military crackdown. Clement Voule, a special rapporteur on freedom of assembly and peaceful protests called on Zimbabwe to promote human rights by respecting the rights to peaceful protest.
11 The United Nations says more than 40,000 people have fled to Niger from North-western Nigeria, half of them in the past four months. The UN refugee agency said this was a new humanitarian emergency, not related to Islamist violence in the North-East.
12 A senior military officer and a civilian employee of the Ghana Armed Forces accused of plotting to overthrow the government have been charged in court. This brings the total number of persons charged so far in connection with the alleged coup plot to five. (Source Foreign News: BBC Africa)
