The Republic of Cameroon has been in turmoil for about three years over the agitation by the people of Southern Cameroon to become an independent state. In this chat, veteran human rights activist and lawyer, Hon. Abdul Oroh share with ONWUKA NZESHI, some perspectives of the political crisis
What is the update on the Cameroonian leaders deported by Nigeria?
When about 12 leaders of the Southern Cameron Resistance were arrested at Nera Hotel, Alex Ekwueme Street, Jabi, Abuja, on January 5, 2018, I was contacted by a member of the family to file a court action to enforce their fundamental rights. Mr. Femi Falana was also contacted and we now teamed up to work together for their release.
First of all, we went to various security agencies in Abuja to identify where they were being detained, We also approached the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR )in Abuja.
Eventually, we got to know that they were detained at the Defence Intelligence Headquarters in Abuja. The UN went there on January 18, 2018 and profiled them. After the profiling, they were assured that these people will not be deported to Cameroon.
It turned out that two of them were Nigerians and were able to establish their links with Nigeria. The other 10 had been living and working in Nigeria for many years. Some even went to school in Nigeria and some were even teaching in our universities.
In spite of the promise made by the authorities that they will not be deported, they were deported on January 25, 2018. So we now filed an action to have them returned to Nigeria and also to enforce their fundamental rights. We needed to take the action because they had neither been charged nor prosecuted for any criminal offence. They were just arrested and detained for whatever reasons.
According to our laws, before you could deport anybody, even if he is a refugee, it must be based on very reasonable grounds. If the person is accused of any crime, you have to charge him to court and establish his culpability. Even then, you have no right to deport him to his country of origin or any other country for that matter, if he feels unsafe there or has reasons to believe that he will not be safe if deported to that country.
They are protected under the United Nations Convention for the Protection of Refugees 1961.
Since this convention has been ratified by Nigeria, it means that it has become part of our domestic laws. It has also been ratified by Cameron and is part of the laws of Cameron.
In fact in the case of Cameron, any international treaty or statute that has been ratified is superior to their Penal Code.
What is the position of the case you filed on behalf of these people?
Before we even go to the case, it is important to know that after this first people were arrested, more Cameroonians were arrested by the Nigerian authorities. About 75 of them were arrested in Gembu, Taraba State and brought into Abuja. After some time, five of them who could establish their links with Nigeria were not deported.
Eventually we got a judgment in February 2019 wherein the Honourable Justice Anwuli Chikere ruled that the abduction, detention and deportation to Cameron were illegal and that they should be compensated and brought back to Nigeria.
Each of them was awarded N5million for unlawful arrest and detention and N500,000 in respect of illegal deportation. The Federal Government had up to 90 days to appeal but they have not formally appealed the judgment. What they have done is to file a notice of appeal, but we have not been served with all the processes for us to respond.
However, we later realized that the first action we filed one of the names was duplicated and we had to file another suit to correct the error and include one of the names that was omitted. At the end, we also got a favourable judgment and as in the previous case, the government filed a notice of appeal.
I must emphasise that a notice of appeal does not amount to an appeal. I must also add that those who were deported to Cameroon have also been made to go through a kangaroo military tribunal. I call it a Kangaroo military tribunal because during the period of their trial which I was privileged to attend, they filed notice of objection and while that was still pending, the authorities in Cameroon sacked the first judge of the tribunal. They appointed a second one and also sacked him soon after. When they now brought the third judge, that one didn’t waste time at all. He started the trial today and ended the entire process the next morning.
The tribunal sat all night and by the following morning, he had convicted all of them. He sentenced them to life imprisonment and fined them amounts which were rather outrageous.
One of those convicted is about 65 years old and has lived in Nigeria for many years. According to the Cameroonian Penal Code, you cannot sentence someone who is 65 years to life imprisonment. So rather than sentencing him for life, they imposed a humongous fine they knew he cannot afford to pay.
What else do you find wrong with the trial?
The brutal nature of the trial was not a good thing. Apart from making French the official language of the case, there were difficulties in the process of translating the proceedings of the trial. In fact it was the Cameroonian state that was on trial considering the background of the case.
The Southern Cameroonians are saying that they were a Trust Territory and not a colony. They got independence in 1961. The northern territory of Cameroon also had theirs in 1961. There was a referendum and the question was do you want to join Nigeria or Cameroon? They were presented with only two options and the Southern Cameroonians are asking is: Why did they not provide a third option which is for them to be on their own as an independent state?
The terms of the referendum was that Cameroon will be a two- state nation of equals. It was designed to be a two-state federal structure but over time that arrangement was jettisoned by successive leaders of Cameroon. From Ahmadou Ahidjo to Paul Biya, they gradually abandoned the arrangement to create a United Republic of Cameroon and later, Federal Republic of Cameroon.
The argument of the people of Southern Cameroon is that by adopting the Federal Republic of Cameron, they have reverted to the pre-independent status. Of course, after adopting the name Republic of Cameroon, one of the two stars on their national flag disappeared. They now have only one star.
There is a strong argument that by adopting that name, they have violated the terms of the union and it means that the federation does not exist any longer. It also means that the two parts are now separated legally.
In other words, Da Republic du Cameroon which is the official name exists separately from the Republic of Southern Cameroonian and they have international boundaries. They are now saying that their struggle is territorially alive, it is also constitutionally and legally alive based on UN Resolution 1608 which guarantees their independence.
How do we juxtapose this trial in Cameroon and the judgments you got for them in Nigeria?
The trial in Cameroon was a mockery and a travesty of justice. In fact, it was the system and structure of the Cameroonian state that was on trial. What precipitated the quarrel or disagreement in Cameroon was the issue of having a dual system of justice. The Civil System which one is what is practiced in France and the Common Law which is practiced in Southern Cameroon. The authorities brought magistrates from Da Republic du Cameroon to Southern Cameroon to preside over trials and administer justice that they don’t understand not just because of the language barrier but also because the legal systems are not the same.
During the trial all these issues came to the fore. I am not saying that one but all the judges were francophone. The civilian and military assessors as well as the lawyers were all Francophones.
The argument put up by Southern Cameroon was that they don’t even believe in the judicial system of the country. They said that they are not and were never citizens of Da Republic du Cameroon but citizens of Southern Cameroon. They said they would prefer to be tried under the laws of Southern Cameroon. Officially, Cameroon is bilingual but the charges against these people were not even translated into English. They argued that they do not even understand the language used in the trial. It was at this point that the tribunal ruled that they had been convicted.
On the other hand, though the case in Nigeria was slow, we followed the due process of the law. All the processes were filled, the judges were not military judges, the state could not dictate to them.
Documents were tendered and exchanged, evidence adduced, arguments canvassed and countered and eventually there were judgments. So it is now for the state to enforce them. The first judgment was sent to Cameron and the Cameroonian tribunal was asked to take judicious note of it.
Our position is that these people did not commit any criminal offence in Nigeria to do warrant their abduction, detention and deportation.
Their refugee status was also established. I have documents by the National High Commission for Refugees Migrants, IDPs and People of Interest. I also have documents from the UN High Commission for Refugee. These document were tendered and admitted in court in spite of fierce opposition from; their military lawyers. So you can see the difference between the two legal system.
Like I said earlier, the trial in Cameron was a travesty of justice. Look at how the lawyers were being intimidated. They just couldn’t do anything. The court was full of armed gendarmes and weapons. Of course the tribunal was a military court. I know that we’ve had military tribunal from time to time but in Cameron, it is a standing court.
Under their laws, you cannot try civilians in military tribunal except if they committed offences that had something to do with the military. But they jettisoned all that and took these people before the military tribunal.
What do you think Nigeria should do given the scenario in Cameroon?
I think that the Nigerian government should engage both parties. The Federal Government has to understand that we have wronged the people of Southern Cameroon by arresting their leaders, humiliating them and handing them over to their enemies. We did not honour our obligation to them as human beings, as refugees and leaders of their people.
Whether they remain as part of the Republic of Cameroon or they become an independent state, at the end of the day, these people will be there as our neighbours forever. Don’t forget that many of these people have ethnic, social and economic linkages with Nigeria. They have relations across the borders. If you go to Ikom and Boki areas of Cross River State, you won’t know the difference between the Nigerians and Cameroonians there. The same situation obtains if you go to places such as Bemenda in Cameron. They are highly intermarried and do businesses together across the borders.
The people of Southern Cameroon have strong business links with Nigeria. They come to Aba and Onitsha to buy goods which they sell in their place. In fact if you go to Southern Cameroon, you can use the Nigerian Naira to transact business conveniently.
They speak English Language as we do here and they have the same Common Law system. We were one before even though they were a Trust Territory. They were part of the Old Eastern Region of Nigeria.
What they are pushing for now is that they want to be part of ECOWAS because they are actually in West Africa and not part of Central Africa. So if by January next year, we have Eco, the proposed common currency of ECOWAS, that is what they are also expecting to be their national currency.
We have the same judicial system. If you go to the Nigerian Law School, it is full of Southern Cameroonian students being called to the Nigerian Bar because we still maintain the same educational system.
There are more than five million Nigerians in Cameron who are trading, farming and doing other businesses. If you go to Douala, the whole spare parts markets are controlled by Nigerians.
So there is a strategic interest there that Nigeria must protect in the interest of our neighbours and our own people living in Cameroon. We should that interest in what is going on there not just because of the people of Southern Cameroon but also because of the French speaking people of Northern Cameron.
It is not the fault of the average Cameroonian that they have a government that is oppressing their fellow citizens. Nigeria must be able to intervene. First of all, prevail on the Cameroonian authorities to convoke real genuine dialogue.
When we had our own problems, other countries intervened and tried to bring peace. There was the Aburi Accord; there was another dialogue in NIFOR, Benin City. People were crossing the borders to meet the Biafran leaders and persuade them to make peace.
Source:newtelegraphng.com
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