Southern Cameroonians demand release of leaders by NIA

By John Okeke and Raphael Izokpu
A Southern Cameroon group pushing for an independent state has asked the Nigerian government to release its leaders detained by National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
Mr. Julius Ayuk Tabe and 11 other leaders of the group were allegedly arrested by the NIA after they arrived in Abuja for a meeting two weeks ago.
The group has been outlawed by the government of Cameroon for seeking the break-up of the Central African country.
In a statement signed by Chris Anu, Secretary of Communications and Information Technology, Federal Republic of Ambazonia, the group demanded the release of the detainees.
He said that a�?the Federal Government of Nigeria abducted the President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, Sisikou Julius Ayuk Tabe, with 11 leaders.a�?
The Anglophone Cameroonians led by Tabe declared the secession of South-West Cameroon as a�?Federal Republic of Ambazoniaa�? in October 2017.
The group accused the Nigerian government of violating the fundamental human rights of their leaders, having allegedly kept them incommunicado and denied them access to their lawyers and family members.
Anu said: “All those abducted have families and all of those families live here in Nigeria. Imagine the traumatic circumstances under which these families have been subjected to. For the past two weeks, they have not seen nor have an idea of the whereabouts of their parents and loved ones. And in spite of all the appeals for family and lawyers’ access to them, the Nigerian government has continued to deny them that basic right”