President, Nigerian Union Bamenda Decries Extortion By Cameroon's Security Forces.

By Raymond Dingana


The President of the Nigerian Union in  Bamenda, North West Region of Cameroon has decried what he says is the  extortion from Nigerians by Cameroon's defense forces. Prince Otobong Ituen was speaking to  DrayInfos Friday August 02,2019 in Bamenda,five days after his executive was installed by the Nigerian consulate General for North West and South West Regions, H.E Ibrahim Bashil, Sunday July 28,2019.According to Prince Otobong Ituen, Nigerians travelling from Bamenda to Nigeria are extorted huge sums of money by Cameroon's security forces. He says it’s like the Cameroon's security forces stationed along the the road to Nigeria from Bamenda have been sent to target Nigerians:“The security forces on the road to Nigeria are becoming something else. It’s like the government sent them to target Nigerians on the road. I can say without any fear of favour or contradiction that, from the very first check point at Mike 90, Nigerians travelling to Nigeria are not free despite having their valid documents. In each of the check points where they are to control identification documents, when the security forces discover that you are a Nigerian, your documents will be held back while Cameroonians are allow to go. When Nigerians asked for their documents, they will ask them to settle control. It is not bad for us to appreciate them for what they are doing to protect us in this country but I don't appreciate them forcing us to give them money and they take it as a tradition”.“Some do challenged us to go back to our country and even asked what we are doing here in Cameroon? Before reaching Ekok, we are bound to spend closed to 60.000FCFA one way and at times more when coming back despite having our valid documents”. He added. 

Quizzed on whether the extortion is the reason why many Nigerians now feel reluctant to go in for their Residence Permits as it is called, he says yes and that many Nigerians now prefer to  give the money to the security forces than go for their valid documents because with or without the documents, they are still forced to pay huge sums when travelling to Nigeria:“Some Nigerians may not even like to pay Residence Permit because it's  of no use paying for the Residence Permits and at the same time forced to pay huge sums  money by Cameroon's security officials each time we are travelling ”.

Asked if the matter has ever been reported to the authorities of the region,Prince Otabong Ituen says they have used all diplomatic measures to let the authorities know what they are going through. He also narrated an incident that happened to him in Batibo and says he was only allow the go after calling the chief of cabinet at the North West Governor's office who made some calls on his behalf. He says all his documents were taken and he was asked to pay in some monies before collecting them. He also told DrayInfos that, one of the security officers told him to call even the Head of State and that they are the ones in charged. He also said he was ones threatened with a gun because he refused to give them money:“There was a check point after widikum where I was threatened by a security official that if I dare waste their time, he was going to shoot me and claimed that i am an Ambazonia fighter.I was angry because, he used a government gun on me, a legal immigrant with valid documents and threatened that he was going to shot me. I did not have any other thing to do than give them 5000FCFA and continued my journey to Nigeria. It’s sad that they are using us to make money for themselves despite the fact their government is paying them for the work they are doing for the nation. The gendarmes once told me that, all the other security agents are under their control just because they wanted to collect money from me but i refused. When I showed them all my documents including my passport with a valid Visa on it, they insulted me and said if I want to use a visa, I should travel by air and that they don't eat documents. This made me to take a decision to rather be paying the money on the road than pay for a visa when travelling and the truth is that, it’s the government that is losing because the huge sums we give on the road do not enter the state treasury”. 

He also said the Consulate General, H.E Ibrahim Bashil is very much aware of all what the Nigerian Community is going through in Bamenda especially in the hands of those he called overzealous and unscrupulous security officers especially when they are travelling. He continued by saying that, the Consulate General has promised to handle the matter in a diplomatic way and that, he was going to have a talk with the authorities. 

Prince Otabong Ituen also called on the Nigerian Community in Bamenda to make sure they have their valid documents despite all what they are going through in the hands of security forces stationed along the road to Nigeria. He also called on them to pay their taxes, stay away from trouble and be law abiding.

                  Prince  Otobong  Ituen, President, Nigerian Union  Bamenda

        On The Day Of The Installation Of The New Executive,Sunday July 28,2019.

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