The Senior Divisional Officer for Momo, North West Cameroon has declared war on armed men who publicly executed 2 men in Guzang, Batibo Subdivision.
According to a statement from the administrative authority of Momo, Fouda Etaba Benoit Nicaise, the act of violence was barbaric and unacceptable, depicting gross violation of human rights against unarmed innocent civilians by the ambazonian separatist fighters.
“I hereby reassure the population and public opinion that, judicial investigations have been opened and the defense and security forces are currently on a deligent search to track-down and present the authors of the heinous act to the competent courts to face the full wrath of the law”, a part of the statement reads.
He however reiterates that, the President of the Republic Paul Biya is still open to receive “misguided” youths still in the bushes who have taken up arms against the state, calling on them to surrender and integrate into the Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration Centers created for their rehabilitation and reintegration into the society.
THE ACT
In the evening hours of Wednesday October 04th 2023, an amateur video of 1 minute 10 seconds surfaced online where 2 elderly men sitting on a main tarred road are being questioned by Gunmen with a huge crowd watching. The 2 men are said to have been pulled out of their houses and summarily executed through random gun-firing at the Guzang Market Square. The 2 victims are Mbanyasig Hansel Ndi, the younger brother to the traditional ruler of Guzang, and Aburo Cletus Njohgo, a petit trader at the Guzang Market. According to the Public Statement from Momo SDO, the corpse of Mbanyamsig has been deposited at the Mortuary in the neighboring Bali Nyonga village, while Aburo had been buried after the incident.
Guzang, where this incident took place , is one of the 22 Villages in Batibo Subdivision. Batibo since the start of the crisis has remained a hotspot for Separatists activities with serious human rights violations and different forms of killings. The area still harbors the dreaded pseudo-General Efang also called Big Numba, who has been the lead Ambazonian armed leader in Batibo.
According to a recent publication of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, CHRDA, spanning January to June 2023, the Non State Armed Groups of Ambazonia had executed 22 persons within this time frame in the most inhumane nature across the North West Region.
The crisis that started in 2016 continues recording more atrocities, abuses and violations without any hope of stopping soon.
