Absence Of Key Officials Delays Justice For Jailed Nigerian Professors In Cameroon
Legal representatives for the Nigerian professors imprisoned in Cameroon have cited the non-appearance of crucial officials from the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Cameroonian High Commissioner to Nigeria, and other key figures as the primary cause of delays in securing justice for their clients.
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions also expected attendance from the UNHCR coordinator, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In a statement obtained by our reporter this weekend, the legal team, led by Joseph Awah Fru, expressed frustration over the ongoing absence of these officials at committee hearings. This absence, they argued, is prolonging the detention of the professors, who have significantly contributed to Nigeria’s academic landscape for the past 30 years.
The professors and other professionals, who were Cameroonian refugees, were arrested at the Nera Hotel in Abuja on January 5, 2018, by security agents. They were subsequently repatriated to Cameroon, where a military tribunal tried them and sentenced them to life imprisonment at the Kondengui Maximum Security Detention Facility.
In their petition, the Nigerian asylum seekers urged the House to compel the federal government to act on the three 2019 Federal High Court of Abuja rulings that ordered their release and compensation.
Fru called for justice and urged Nigerians, through their elected representatives, to support the petition before the House Committee on Public Petitions. He emphasized the importance of addressing the plight of the professors and other refugees who have been arbitrarily detained in Cameroon.
