PUNCH
Five Nigerian pastors and others residing in the Idabato II community of Cameroon, formerly known as the Bakassi Peninsula, have been arrested and detained by the Cameroonian authorities.
Their detention followed the kidnap of the community’s Divisional Officer, Ewane Roland, by armed men in early October.
A former chairman of the Yoruba community in the defunct Bakassi Peninsula, Eniola Alabo, disclosed this to Saturday PUNCH during an interview on Tuesday.
Local media had reported that Roland, alongside another official of the council, Etongo Ismaeil, was whisked away on October 1, 2024, by gunmen who used a flying boat in the coastal area.
According to Alabo, the Cameroonian government blamed Nigerians in the area for Roland’s abduction and deployed soldiers to arrest them.
“The Gendarmerie came to the community and started shooting sporadically into the air on the day they arrested some of these Nigerians,” Alabo said.
The man explained that his compatriots in the troubled community called and explained that the incident had plunged them into panic and anxiety in the border town.
During the raid, some Nigerians, including Iseoluwa Eniola, Feran Ajimosun, Idowu Ajimosun, Abiola Ajimosun, Blessing Ajimosun, Sunny Bassey, Feran Samagbeyi, and Godwin were detained in Idabato II.
Governor locks down community
Saturday PUNCH gathered that Cameroon’s South-West Governor, Bernard Okalia, visited Idabato on October 8, 2024.
He was said to have declared a total lockdown of the area, which had mostly Nigerians who were fishermen.
Okalia was said to have issued a 72-hour ultimatum to both Nigerians and Cameroonians in the community to produce Roland alive.
A clip of the visit, obtained by our correspondent, showed him saying, “All shops are closed…the churches are closed till further notice. No exit, no entry in this whole Idabato.”
Alabo said Nigerians in the community were rendered economically handicapped, leading to hunger and frustration.
