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Kidnapped Students Freed In Cameroon

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Kidnapped Students Freed In Cameroon

Students kidnapped from a boarding school in Cameroon’s North-West region have been freed, officials have said.

The 79 students and three others were seized early on Sunday in the region’s capital, Bamenda.

The school’s principal, the driver, and a teacher are still in captivity, the BBC’s Mayeni Jones has reported.

The government and separatists in the English-speaking region have been accusing each other of being behind the kidnapping.

A video purportedly showing some of the kidnapped students from Bamenda’s Presbyterian Secondary School has been shared online, sparking outrage.

An Anglophone separatist movement has been operating in the North-West and South-West regions over the past year.

The circumstances of the students’ release is unclear but authorities said they are being questioned before being released to their parents.

According to the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon, the students were abandoned in one of their buildings in the town of Bafut, about 24km (15 miles) from Bamenda.

The church has also said that Sunday’s kidnapping was the second kidnapping at the same school in less than a week.

In the 31 October incident, 11 boys were taken and then released. It is unclear who the kidnappers were.

Communication Minister Issa Bakary Tchiroma told AFP news agency that “all 79 students have been released,” but did not give any further details.

A priest, who was conducting negotiations with the captors, confirmed the release but said the school’s principal, driver and a teacher had been held back, Reuters news agency has reported.

The army had been deployed to try and find the children.

Cameroon’s authorities have blamed the kidnap on Anglophone separatist militias – who have called for the closing of schools in English-speaking regions.

They want to create an independent state called Ambazonia.

A video of the hostages released on Monday showed one of the captives saying they had been seized by “Amba Boys” – the widely-used term to describe the separatist rebels.

An Anglophone group, the Ambazonia International Policy commission (AIPC), has however cast doubt on the idea that the perpetrators are the separatists, noting that the person recording the video appears to have a poor grasp of Pidgin-English, the language spoken widely in the Anglophone area of the country.

One of the kidnappers was apparently heard speaking French.

English-speakers in Cameroon have long complained that they face discrimination.

They say that they are excluded from top civil service jobs and that government documents are often only published in French, even though English is also an official language.

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Third Explosion In A Week Rocks Dansadau-Gusau Road, Claims Lives Of Travellers

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Tragedy struck yet again on the Dansadau-Gusau road as another explosion killed multiple travellers on Friday, marking the third such incident in less than a week.

The explosion occurred between Dansadau to Malele road, causing significant damage.

A resident of the area who pleaded anonymity for security reasons told Channels Television that a truck vehicle conveying about 100 bags of grains and passengers to Dansadau market hit an improvised explosive device (IED) planted along the route, resulting in a devastating explosion.

Authorities and locals have yet to confirm the exact number of casualties, but the resident said several travellers killed during the blast.

“Till now, we are yet to confirm the exact number of people killed, we are waiting for the people from Malele community to give us the actual figures,” the source said.

“The incident happened around 8:30 am, the distance between the scene of the explosion to Dansadau is just few kilometres.”

The source added that the second explosive planted by the terrorists was discovered by the troops who defused it.

“The soldiers who rushed to the scene of the bomb discovered another bomb that was yet to detonate, they used their machine to check and took it inside the bush to defuse it,” he stated.

The recurring blasts have heightened fears among residents and commuters, who now consider the highway a death trap.

Just two days ago, a similar incident claimed the lives of six persons, sparking widespread calls for urgent government intervention.

The police authorities in the state had earlier accused the newly formed terror group Lakurawa as the mastermind of the recent explosions that occurred along the Dansadau-Gusau Road.

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Nigeria’s Economy Still Facing Crisis, CBN Admits

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The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Yemi Cardoso has acknowledged that Nigeria remains in a financial and economic crisis, a situation inherited by the current CBN administration.

Speaking at the 14th Annual Bankers’ Committee Retreat in Abuja, Cardoso explained that the role of the bankers’ committee remains critical towards addressing the challenge as well as reflating the economy.

The CBN boss said that the nation faces challenges in how to address poverty, rising inflation, infrastructure deficits, insecurity, and unemployment, among others.

He called on members of the bankers’ committee to reflect on the past year’s challenges and devise actionable tools to address them effectively.

On his part, the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs Tope Fasua expressed concerns over excess charges by point of sale operators (PoS) while calling on the apex bank as well as deposit money banks to make cash available at all ATM points.

The three-day event brings together key players in the banking sector and has the theme “Contract and Commitment to National Development and Economic Growth”.

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Alleged Mass Killings: NHRC Demands Justice For Victims

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A member of the NHRC Governing Council, Kemi Okonyedo, speaks in Abuja on December 6, 2024 at the presentation of the report from the investigative panel on human rights violations in counter-insurgency operations in the North-East, to the army.


The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has demanded justice and accountability for civilian victims who were allegedly killed by operatives of the Nigerian Army in the Abisari community in Borno state.

A member of the NHRC Governing Council, Kemi Okonyedo, made the demand at the presentation of the report from the investigative panel on human rights violations in counter-insurgency operations in the North-East, to the army.

The report had vindicated the military of forced systemic abortions administered on women but indicted them of intentionally killing civilians in the Abasari community

Okonyedo is demanding that those affected, be compensated.

“The killing of civilians in Abisari remains a grave violation that demands justice, accountability and immediate action,” she said.

“These are not abstract issues, they are real. Lives affected are real, families impacted exist, and communities impacted are still suffering and must be acknowledged and addressed.

“The recommendations of the panel provide a roadmap for addressing these violations, holding perpetrators accountable and ensuring that similar violations do not occur in the future.

“Among the panel’s key recommendations is compensation for the victims of the Abisari killings with the Federal Government ensuring that the families and communities affected are provided adequate reparations.”

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