Many Anglophone Cameroonians residing overseas and returning to Cameroon have been abducted, arrested and incarcerated by the Cameroon government authorities since the onset and escalation of the Anglophone crises in 2016. This is in attempt to quell dissenting voices and criticism of the Cameroon government worldwide from the Anglophone Cameroon diaspora following massive protests organised exposing gross human rights abuses and war crimes of Cameroon authorities and military against the English-speaking populations in Cameroon.
A glaring example is the case of Dr.Awoh Emmanuel Lokoko, an Australian based Anglophone Cameroonian who was unlawfully arrested and jailed by Cameroon government security forces for allegedly participating in protests organised by Anglophone Cameroonians in Australia to denounce the human rights abuses of the Cameroon government authorities and military against the Anglophone populations of the North West and South West regions of Cameroon
Dr Awoh Emmanuel Lokoko (El Paso) is holder of a PhD in Conflict Management from the University of Melbourne Australia. Before his demise, it is alleged that Dr.Awoh Emmanuel had participated in demonstrations organised by the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Association of Australia (SCAAA) denouncing the injustices and human rights abuses of the Cameroon government against the English speaking people of the two anglophone regions of North West and South West. In January 2020, Dr Awoh Emmanuel travelled to Cameroon to pay homage to his deceased father and was arrested at the Nsimalen airport by Cameroon security forces upon arrival. He has been in detention at the Kodengui Maximum Security prison in Yaounde since January 2021 till date, on charges of fuelling secession and terrorism against the Cameroon State. According to reports from close family and friends, Dr.Awoh’s wife Mesmarise and 15 months old child continue to be traumatized and distressed about what happened to their husband and father and as their return could potentially meet the same fate.
Some sympathisers and friends of Dr.Awoh Emmanuel say that it is unfortunate what happened to their friend because he thought his criticism of the Cameroon government went unnoticed and he underestimated the intelligence of the Cameroon government authorities about his political activities in Australia. They think that Dr.Awoh is just a victim who fell in the drag net of the Cameroon government authorities and he is not different from others like the Separatists leaders of the Interim Government of the Southern Cameroons Liberation movement currently serving life jail terms and many other Anglophone Cameroonians arbitrarily arrested and jailed since the escalation of the Anglophone crises in 2016.
Since four years and counting the Anglophone regions of Cameroon have been hard hit by an armed-conflict between English speaking separatist and the Cameroon government army where more than 10.000 people are reportedly killed, about 500,000 internally displaced and an estimated 60.000 refugees fleeing the conflict into neighbouring Nigeria.
