Southwest Governor Was Apparently Right That There Were Local Accomplices In The Adduction Of DO Of Idabato By Nigerian Pirates

Arrest of an alleged suspect in the abduction of the DO of Idabato

Scandalously enough, the DO of Idabato in the Bakassi Peninsula, has no official residence

There are indications that the Governor of the Southwest Region, Barnard Okalia Bilai, was apparently right when he declared that the pirates from neighbouring Nigeria that abducted Ewane Roland, the DO of Idabato in the Bakassi Peninsula, were aided in the operation by accomplices on the ground in Idabato.

It would be recalled that Ewane Roland, the DO of Idabato Sub –division in Ndian Division of the Southwest Region of Cameroon, was abducted in the night of September 30 breaking October 1, 2024. To be more precise, the incident took place at about 2am on Tuesday, October 1, 2024. The DO was abducted by a group of heavily armed men.  A staff of the Idabato Municipal Council, Etongo Ismael, was kidnapped alongside the DO. The two men were reportedly whisked off in a speed boat in the Atlantic Ocean, towards Nigeria. It later came out that the abductors of the DO were Nigeria pirates that are said to have their hideouts in the creeks, on the Nigerian side of the border.

95 % Of Idabato Population Are Nigerians

Meanwhile, Southwest Governor, Bernard Okalia Bilai, had on October 8, 2024, visited Idabato, to assess the situation on the ground. The Governor was visibly furious that information gathered on the ground, revealed that some members of the Nigeria community in Idabato, played the role of accomplices in the abduction of the DO, Ewane Roland, and the council staff.  The Governor, who confirmed that the Nigerian Community in Idabato is as high as 95 % of the population, said the Nigerians have been   refusing to pay taxes.  He said the Nigerians were highly opposed to the DO, Ewane Roland, who had been insisting that they should respect the Law in their host country, and that all those carrying out commercial or income generating activities, should pay their taxes.  To the Governor, the Nigerians’ strong opposition to the payment of taxes was certainly the reason behind the abduction of the DO, with the complicity of some Nigerians in Idabato.

What Became Of The 72 Hour Ultimatum?

Governor Okalai Bilai who confirmed that the abducted DO was in the hands of the abductors in Nigeria, gave no details. He however insisted that the Nigerians in Idabato, knew the hoodlums that kidnapped the DO and council staff, and took them to the Nigerian side of the border, precisely in the creeks.  The Governor thus told them to go and bring back the DO, within 72 hours, that is three days. He however did not say what would happen if the 72 hour ultimatum elapsed, when the DO had not yet been brought back to Idabato.

The Governor had on that October 8 in Idabato, also ordered that all businesses premises in Idabato be shut down, and all commercial activities put on hold, during the 72 hour period.

The 72 hour ultimatum of the Southwest Governor, who visited Idabato on October 8, 2024, expired three days later, with the abducted DO of Idabato,  Ewane Roland, still in the hands of the abductors, and is still in the hands of the criminals till date. But the Governor has so far not publicly said anything again, about his 72 hour ultimatum. However the Governor is known to have held talks with the Nigerian Consul General in Buea.  It would be recalled that Cameroonian authorities had on learning about the abduction of the DO of Idabato on October 1, 2024, immediately called on their Nigerian counterparts, to, within the framework of the cross – border cooperation between their two countries, try to take appropriate and prompt action to track down the kidnappers of the DO and council staff. But so far, it is not clear as to what measures the Nigerian Government has taken to try to liberate the DO, who remains in the hands of his abductors.

No Permanent Residence For The DO In Idabato

Meanwhile the Yaounde based wife of the abducted DO of Idabato, Rose Ewane, who last week granted interviews in English and French to some local TV stations, said that two weeks after the abduction of the husband, she travelled to Buea, the Southwest Regional Headquarters, to meet the Governor. She disclosed that Governor Okalia Bilai, who told her that her husband’s abduction was not something she could handle, and that it was a diplomatic issue between Cameroon and Nigeria. The Governor also advised her to stay calm, and continue to pray.

Scandalously enough, it came out of the interviews granted by the indignant wife of the abducted DO of Idabato, that there is up till date no permanent or official residence for the Sub –divisional Officer of Idabato in the Bakassi Peninsula. It should be noted that after Cameroon won the case against Nigeria over the ownership of oil rich Bakassi Peninsula at the International Court of Justice, one of the major decisions that the Government took, was to provide basic necessities and infrastructures to localities on the peninsula, to make the place a bit confortable for Cameroonian civil servants and others to be able to stay there.  This was considering the fact that one of the reasons that had made neighbouring Nigeria to lay claim over the oil rich Bakassi Peninsula, was linked to the fact that the local population were predominantly Nigerians (fishermen). The Government claimed to have pumped in huge sums of money to develop Bakassi, but that development is not being seen on ground. There is even no permanent or official residence for the DO of Idabato.

The wife of the abducted DO of Idabato,   disclosed in the interviews that for the seven years that her husband has been DO of Idabato, he has been living in a room at the Guesthouse of the Idabato Municipal Council. The Idabato Mayor, his wife and children, as well as the Deputy Mayor, and the DO, have all been living in that Guesthouse. Terrible!

Wife Of Abducted DO, Also Certain That The Nigerian Pirates Had Local Accomplices 

In the aforementioned interviews the wife of abducted DO of Idabato, also expressed the conviction that the Nigerian pirates that abducted her husband, had local accomplices in the area. She did not disclose the source of her information, given that she was not at Idabato that fateful night. She however said that when the gunmen got to the building of the Guest House that night, they did not know the right direction to take, and instead turned to move towards the left. She said somebody told them to rather come towards the right. She said when the gunmen entered the corridor of the building, they  instead  moved towards the door of the room of the Deputy Mayor of Idabato, and that the same voice told them that the door of the DO”s room was  instead opposite that one, The gunmen then  started hitting  the door to force it open. When they succeeded to break into the room, the DO have ran into the toilet and hit himself there. But the hoodlums got in there and pulled him out.

This meant that the gunmen came specifically for the DO of Idabato, Ewane Roland, and that there were local accomplices with the gunmen, to direct them. It is also very likely that before the pirates left their base in the Nigerian creeks for the operation in Idabato, they had gotten confirmation from their accomplices in Idabato that the DO was around. The DO was known to often travel to Yaounde, where his family is based.

As for Etongo Ismael of the Idabato Council who was also reportedly abducted, the circumstance of his abduction has so far not been clear. The wife of the abducted DO even said in her interviews that there is no person with that name at the Idabato Council, and that council officials did not know the person.

Arrest Of Alleged Suspect Or Accomplice In The Abduction Of DO  

Meanwhile, there has been an unconfirmed piece of information, that a certain Simon Ekpa was arrested last Thursday in connection to the abduction of the DO of Idabato, Roland Ewane. He is alleged to have been one of the persons on the ground in Idabato that masterminded the operation. But as The Mentor has stated, there has so far been no official confirmation or statement. It should however be noted an official statement on such an arrest, if it is true, often takes a longtime to come.

It was alleged that the arrested suspect was to be transferred to the nation’s capital, Yaounde.  French language daily, Le Messager, on the front page of its edition of Monday, November 25, 2024, that circulated online, also reported that a suspect in the abduction of the DO of Idabato has been arrested, though it was not known whether the paper  was also referring to the said Simon Ekpa.

Question On Security At Idabato, Remains

Meanwhile there continues to be no answer to the question that some members of public have been asking as regard security in Idabato, on the Bakassi Peninsula. There is supposed to be a high and permanent security presence on the Bakassi Peninsula.  Many Cameroonians have thus been questioning what happened in the night of September30 breaking October 1, 2024. That a group of armed men (pirates) in speed boat  from a neighboring country, ducked at Idabato, were able to move into a sub-divisional headquarter, Idabato, on the Bakassi Peninsula, pick up the DO, who is the representative of the State as the Government’s Spokesperson says,   and take him to  the boat, and speed off. There has so far been no report that there was even a confrontation between Cameroonian security forces and the Nigerian pirates that night.

By Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)

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