Northwest: Amba fighters in Oku go mute after abducting four teachers

By Tata Mbunwe

Four teachers, among them Philosophy teacher Emmanuel Mbelle Keri, were abducted by separatist fighters in Oku, Bui Division of Cameroon’s Northwest Region.

Since their abduction on November 6, the separatist fighters have been mute, not demanding for any ransom but have kept them captive in separate hideouts.

The teachers of Government Bilingual High School Lafele Djotin in Noni, were on their way to report at the school following pressure from authorities for absent teachers to report to their institutions or be sacked from the civil service.

According to the teachers’ syndicate where the abducted teachers belong, the four teachers were dropped from a transport vehicle when the fighters at a checkpoint discovered one of them was a teacher.

Although the three other teachers were not discovered, their colleague, who would not want to be kidnapped alone, told the separatists there were other teachers in the transport vehicle.
The teachers then revealed their identities after Amba fighters threatened to shoot everyone who was on board.

After some separatist leaders eased school boycott measures, the teaching job is yet to become safe for most teachers in the Northwest and Southwest regions as teachers are still being kidnapped and threatened by separatists in the restive regions.

Weeks ago, separatist fighters kidnapped eleven teachers of a Presbyterian School in Kumbo, headquarters of Bui Division.