36-year-old Cameroonian who formerly worked with a brewery company is presently in hiding amidst victimisation from the state military and separatist fighters.
According to ground information, Victor is among several workers of Le Brasseries du Cameroon who have been flagged for cooperating with separatists in their mission to destabilize Cameroon.
Military sources indicate that tracked transactions and communications testified that the said company through its workers, cooperated with Separatist fighters.
“We succeeded in tracking some financial transactions carried out by the company and the terrorists where money amounting to millions were transferred to the terrorists’ accounts, thereby assisting them to buy weapons and ammunition against the state of Cameroon. We equally tracked communication channels opened by the company and these terrorists,” a Senior Military Personnel at the 21st BIM of the South West Region, said.
The military indicated that investigations further led to the arrest of at least six persons, including the Manager, Field Supervisor and some drivers.
“They were taken for questioning and further investigations. For now, we are still in the process of getting all our facts straight. Unfortunately, we couldn’t lay hands along all the suspects, but our arsenals are open in the wait that we get all these suspected to be partakers of this destabilizing move,” the source expounded.
Le Brasseries du Cameroon burnt down by suspected separatist fighters
One of those on the run is Victor who is believed to have fled the country before the military dragnet began. On reaching some close sources akin to him, Eden got it clear that all allegations levied against him and his colleagues were false and that they were just victims of circumstances.
“He was kidnapped and underwent severe torture at the hands of the separatists. His company, in desperate efforts to save him and his colleagues, heeded the demands of the captors, which was to pay a ransom to secure their release. It beats my imagination that such desperate efforts are not translated to be sponsoring terrorism,” a close relative who pleaded for anonymity, indicated.
Those arrested were transferred to the maximum security prison in Yaoundé, while it is alleged that the whereabouts Manager of the brewery company are still to be known.
If tried under the 2014 Anti-terrorism Law, the suspects risk severe jail terms including life imprisonment.
A 2020 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report indicated that over 3000 Cameroonians are presently held either by the Cameroon Government or Separatist fighters, on allegations of conniving with the rival factions. A third of that number end up. being unaccounted for after they were under severe torture during investigations.
The crisis in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon though underreported has accounted for the loss of over 5000 lives since 2017 and more than 10, 000 displaced persons.
The grievous collateral damage is evident in the many lives lost and properties destroyed.
