Nera 10: Nigerian federal lawmakers receive new petition

Prof. Carlson Anyangwe, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, Barr. Fru Joseph Awah, Barr. Abdul Oroh and Barr. Mbinkar Ernestine Singeh, have reportedly submitted a petition to the Nigerian federal lawmakers on behalf of Ambazonia Separatist leaders who were picked up from a hotel in Abuja, Nigeria on January 5, 2018, and taken to Cameroon where they are serving life imprisonment sentence.

Ambazonia leader Sisiku Julius Ayuktabe and other Professors say they were legal residents of Nigeria while some were Asylum seekers but consider their arrest, as “abduction” from Abuja to Yaounde.

The detainees also said their detention in Cameroon is unlawful there have been two judgments from Nigeria, asking the federal government to demand the repatriation of the Nera 10 men. At least 6 of them were professors teaching in Nigerian universities.

 The content of the petition

“Cause the government of Nigeria to institute an urgent action to secure the implementation of Communication 59/2022 of 14th October 2022 of the UN-HRC-WGAD calling for the release of the Petitioners.

“Cause the Government of Nigeria to take action and implement the rulings in the 3 judgments of the Federal High Court of Abuja in 2019, ordering the release and compensation of these Petitioners.

“Cause Nigeria to leverage on the Abuja 2002 ruling in the case of Kelvin Ngwang Ngumne et al Vs the FGN, demanding that Nigeria intervenes to resolve the conflict between Southern Cameroons and La Republique du Cameroun and respect for the particular clause of the Green Tree Agreement which demands that both la Republique du Cameroun and Nigeria retain their boundaries at independence, To pursue the self-determination quest of the Southern Cameroons to its logical conclusion as mandated by the FHC 2002 judgment.

“Cause the Government of Nigeria to take action and urgently initiate proceedings before the ICJ and other international jurisdictions citing la République du Cameroun to be sanctioned for fraudulent misrepresentation during the Bakassi Peninsula case in the ICJ.

“Cause the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to take its rightful place as “big brother” in African politics and cause the African Union or the United Nations to intervene in the matter between the Southern Cameroons and La Republique du Cameroun or to proceed as mediator and resolve the ongoing conflict and restore peace and stability in the Gulf of Guinea region.”

Sahara Reporters noted that at the last hearing of the subject before the House Committee on Public Petitions, Mohammed Manu, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no record of the petition.

The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Mike Etaba, adjourned the hearing till April 16, 2024, for proper service and hearing.