6 Nigerian Professors In Custody In Cameroun

Six Nigerian lecturers in custody in Cameroon ask the government for assistance in securing their release

The House of Representatives has granted relief to six academics from Nigerian colleges and four other individuals who were detained, deported, and imprisoned in Cameroon since January 2018.

The petitioners, some of whom held positions as teachers in Nigerian colleges, claimed to be legal residents of Nigeria and to be refugees or asylum seekers.

The hearing for their case is set for Tuesday, April 16.

Some with notable intellectual and professional backgrounds are among those in custody.

Among them are Augustine Cheh Awasum, a surgical professor at Ahmadu Bello University, and Julius Ayuk Tabe, vice president of the American University of Nigeria and an authority in information technology.

Some others are A human rights campaigner and barrister at law named Blaise Berinyuy Sevidzem is one among the prisoners.

The petitioners contend that unfounded claims of attempting to topple La Republique du Cameroun's government served as the basis for their kidnapping and subsequent deportation from Nigeria to Cameroon on January 5, 2018.

Mohammed Manu, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asserted during a hearing before the House Committee on Public Petitions that the ministry was unaware of the petition.

He proposed that the government handled the situation as a legal and security concern. However, in order to continue with other matters, the Committee has postponed the hearing.