A Cameroonian separatist chief has been arrested in Norway on suspicion of involvement within the ongoing armed battle within the Central African nation.
Lucas Ayaba Cho was arrested on Tuesday on fees “primarily based on his conduct on social media,” his lawyer instructed the BBC Allegations from varied statements within the media”.
Cho is an influential determine within the anglophone motion pushing for independence in Cameroon, the place greater than 6,000 folks have been killed and almost one million displaced since preventing started in 2016.
Some folks within the nation’s two English-speaking areas say they face discrimination from the French-speaking majority.
Rights group Amnesty Worldwide accused authorities forces and armed separatists of killing, raping and torturing civilians.
A Cameroonian official instructed the BBC that Norway and Cameroon had reached a safety settlement and Cao could possibly be extradited within the coming days.
His lawyer stated he was unaware of any extradition request.
Cao is a self-proclaimed liberation chief and one of the crucial outstanding separatist leaders influencing Cameroon’s risky Anglophone regional battle.
On his web site, the 52-year-old is described because the commander-in-chief of the Ambazonia Protection Forces (ADF), certainly one of a number of armed teams searching for independence from Cameroon.
He directs operations from his base in Norway, the place he’s believed to have just lately ordered a two-week lockdown as a part of a separatist boycott of colleges.
He’s recognized for his powerful rhetoric and hard perspective, most just lately after ADF fighters focused taxi drivers within the North West, ordering them to alter the colour of their autos from yellow to white and blue, the colours of taxis. , he was criticized. Some who refused noticed their autos burned.
The Ambazonia Governing Council, the political wing of the ADF, imposed a “liberation tax” that pressured folks dwelling within the restive anglophone area to pay a sure sum of money to finance the battle with the federal government.
In January 2017, he stated he survived an assassination try after holding talks with different Belgian separatist leaders.
His anti-institutional radicalism didn’t emerge with the outbreak of the Anglophone disaster in 2016.
Norway’s Nationwide Felony Investigation Service (KRIPOS) stated Cao “performed a central function within the ongoing armed battle in Cameroon”.
On Wednesday, Norwegian investigators approached the Oslo District Courtroom searching for his detention.
“We’re within the early phases of our investigation and have a number of investigative steps that haven’t but been accomplished,” Norwich prosecutor Annette Berger stated.
Emmanuel Nsahlai, an American lawyer representing a number of the victims of Cameroon’s Anglophone disaster, hailed Cao’s arrest as a “main victory” for Cameroon in opposition to separatist violence.
“This arrest marks a vital step in the direction of holding him accountable for his actions and bringing justice to the victims of his violence,” Mr Nsale stated.
Cao is just not the primary separatist chief to be arrested overseas in reference to the violence in Cameroon.
Because the battle started, Cameroon’s authorities has urged overseas nations internet hosting separatist leaders to assist deliver them again to face trial for his or her function within the ongoing violence.
In 2018, Anglophone separatist chief Julius Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and 46 others had been arrested in Nigeria and later extradited to Cameroon.
