Youth Born In Anglophone Crisis Stronghold In Troubled Waters

 

By Ojong Joseph Ojong In Mamfe

Since the twist in the Anglophone Crisis in 2016, children who were born or grew up in the Anglophone Crisis strongholds have been in trouble waters as they face constant arrests, arbitrary detention, threats and other human rights abuses.

Some of these localities whose youths, especially makes are suspected as separatists or secessionists include, Mamfe, Malende, Kwa Kwa, Muyuka, Kumba, Bamenda, Bali and Kumbo.

Once ever they are stopped at security check points and present their National Identification papers which bear their place of birth, they become suspects and are looked upon as such.

A recent case is that of Mudiki Leonard Eyong who was born in Muyuka but grew up in Mamfe, another Anglophone Crisis stronghold where the first military agent was killed prior to the escalation of the Crisis.

Sometime in April 2022, while was travelling in a bus from Yaounde he was asked to step down when he presented his Identification papers and was realized that he was born in Muyuka.

According to reports, he was allegedly manhandled and rubbed in the standby waters and abused as being a separatist.

He was only survived by other passengers who intervened demanding that he be let to continue his journey.

According to sources in Mamfe, this was not the first time he was facing such embarrassing situation.

Background sources say Mudiki Leonard Eyong came from a home where his father was a Member of the banned Southern Cameroon’s National Council, SCNC, advocating for the secession of Southern Cameroon from French Cameroon.

In 2016, he also followed his Father’s footsteps with activities of the SCNC and was arrested during a protest by teachers and lawyers and later released.

On October 1, 2016, he was also involved in another protest that turned sour due to the intervention of security forces who arrested the protesters and looked them up in an undisclosed detention facility.

According to Family sources, he was released by his father after a thorough search for him and following the payment of a bail fee.

Sources say Mudiki would later on relocate to Limbe where he engaged in business activities to start his life all over.

Trouble was not over though for the young SCNC activist turned business man as his past kept on catching up with him.

Severally he would be interrogated on his involvement with separatist fighters and threaten to lock him up if he doesn’t say the truth.

This went on till that unfortunate day where he was intercepted in a bus from Yaounde and since then his friends in Limbe say he has run away from his home and thy do not have contacts of him.

Like many youths who are rightly or wrongly suspected of being involved with secessionist activities, a good number of them have fled to neighboring Nigeria for safety and for the fear of facing the dreaded anti-terrorism law.

It should be noted that the law puts civilians before a military court and those who are found guilty may face a jail sentence of 15 to 25 years and sometimes life sentence.