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Human Rights Cameroon

Cameroonian Professors Petition Nigerian House for Release from Illegal Detention

Six Cameroonian professors, who were abducted from Nigeria in 2018, remain illegally detained in Cameroon's Kondengui Security Detention facility despite multiple court rulings and UN Human Rights Council decisions declaring their arrest and detention arbitrary and illegal. The professors, who were teaching in Nigerian universities, are seeking the Nigerian House of Representatives' intervention to secure their release." This description focuses on the primary topic of the article (the illegal detention of Cameroonian professors), the main entities involved (the professors, Nigeria, and Cameroon), the context (the professors' abduction from Nigeria and detention in Cameroon), and the significant actions and consequences (the court rulings and UN decisions, and the professors' plea for intervention). The description also provides objective and relevant details that will help an AI generate an accurate visual representation of the article's content, such as the setting of the detention facility and the professors' occupation.

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Nitish Verma
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Cameroonian Professors Petition Nigerian House for Release from Illegal Detention

Cameroonian Professors Petition Nigerian House for Release from Illegal Detention

Six Cameroonian professors teaching in Nigerian universities and four others have petitioned the Nigerian House of Representatives to intervene and secure their release from illegal imprisonment in Cameroon. The petitioners, all of Cameroonian nationality including refugees and asylum seekers, were allegedly abducted from Nigeria on January 5th, 2018 and have been detained in Cameroon since then on allegations of plotting to destabilize the government of President Paul Biya.

Why this matters: This case highlights the ongoing human rights violations in Cameroon and the need for international pressure to ensure the release of illegally detained individuals. It also raises concerns about the safety of refugees and asylum seekers in Nigeria, who may be at risk of similar abductions and detentions.

Despite two separate judgments in Nigeria ruling in their favor and stating that their arrest and deportation were illegal, the professors remain imprisoned at the Kondengui Security Detention facility in Cameroon. The UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UN-HRC-WGAD) also found their arrest and detention by Nigeria and Cameroon to be arbitrary and illegal in October 2022, asking both countries to unconditionally free the victims and pay them appropriate compensation.

The lawyer to the petitioners, Barr Joseph Fru, stated that they were optimistic about the intervention of the legislature in resolving the matter. "There is a clarification that we need to make that is fundamental and cardinal. They were abducted. They were not arrested," Fru emphasized. He further noted, "An abduction does not end when we know where they are. That illegal act continues and abides with them until that illegality is cured. And to this point that illegality has not been cured and that is why we are still in prison."

However, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed Manu, claimed that the Ministry had no record of the petition and that the matter was handled by the government as a security and legal issue. The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for June 11, 2024.

The case of the six Cameroonian professors and four others illegally detained in Cameroon since 2018 continues, with their lawyer remaining hopeful that the intervention of the Nigerian House of Representatives will finally lead to their release. As the victims await the next hearing in June, the question remains whether Nigeria and Cameroon will heed the UN Human Rights Council's ruling and rectify the illegal abduction and imprisonment of these individuals.

Key Takeaways

  • Six Cameroonian professors, including refugees and asylum seekers, were abducted from Nigeria in 2018.
  • They were detained in Cameroon on allegations of plotting to destabilize the government.
  • Two Nigerian court judgments and a UN Human Rights Council ruling deemed their arrest and detention illegal.
  • Despite this, they remain imprisoned in Cameroon's Kondengui Security Detention facility.
  • Their lawyer is seeking intervention from the Nigerian House of Representatives to secure their release.