Military Tribunal Finally Orders Release Of Slain UB’s Student Corpse

• Family To Conduct, Sponsor Cost Of Autopsy To Ascertain Cause of Death
• Lawyers Promise To Hold ‘Surreptitious’ SEMIL Officers Accountable For Heinous Act

By Andrew Nsoseka

Lawyers representing and defending late University of Buea student, Ngule Linus Fonteh who died in custody, and another detained student, Mboh Jeres, a level 400 student of the Department of Public Law and Public Administration at the Faculty of Laws and Political Sciences, UB,have announced that after several efforts, and meetings with various Ministry of Defence Stakeholders the remains of late Ngule Linus will be released and handed to the family for autopsy and burial on Thursday July 6, 2023.

In a press statement, the lawyers state that Ngule died on March 16, 2023 in Buea, while in the custody of officers of the Military Security (SEMIL) of the Buea brigade few hours after he was abducted alongside his roommate Mboh Jeres by the military.

They further detailed that Ngule’s body was conveyed via a military Toyota Pickup belonging to the SEMIL office in Buea, and deposited at the mortuary of the Regional Hospital Buea at 01 a.m. on the night of March 16, 2023.

“Following instructions of MINDEF doubling as Minister of Military Justice to Judicial Officers of the Military Tribunal South West Region-Buea, particularly the State Prosecutor (Commissaire du Government) to take all necessary steps to stop the scrimmage between (SEMIL) officers of Buea and the NGULES family over the corpse and to release same MBOH Jeres, the Examining Magistrate of the said tribunal on June 23^rd, 2023 signed a Court Order that legally released the corpse previously sealed by the government to the family, without securing the release of the latter”, the lawyers said.

They further revealed that the removal of the corpse is slated for Thursday July 6, 2023 at 4 pm and shall be preceded by an autopsy solely sponsored by the family of the deceased to ascertain the cause of the death.

The lawyers said they are beseeching the President of the Republic, the Minister of State, Minister Higher Education, Minister of State, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seal, MINDEF, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence in Charge of the National Gendarmerie (SED), The Delegate General of National Security (DGSN), the Director of External Research (DGRE), Vice Chancellor of the University of Buea, the Intentional Community, Rights Organisations, the State Prosecutor (Commissaire du Government) Military Tribunal South West Region Buea, The Cameroon Bar Association, the Medical Expert, Press, friends, Faculty mates and Public in general to take special note of these developments.

In their press statement issues on July 3, 2023, and signed by Barrister Amungwa Tanyi Nico, the lawyers said “notwithstanding all the surreptitious attempts deployed by officers of SEMIL Buea in a bit to mask themselves from the heinous crime in collusion with their colleagues of the Military Tribunal South West Region Buea, this in total disregard of the instructions of their Minister; the defense team is resolved to ensure justice for Ngule Linus Fonteh and Mboh Jeres…”