The Ayaba Cho Affair: Why Norway Decided To Arrest And Put On Trial, Separatist Leader, Ayaba Cho Lucas

Ayaba Cho is being charged for, Incitement To Crimes, Against Humanity, In Cameroon

He is said to have rejected the charge as spurious, claiming that, “the entire case is being built around Misinformation, Misunderstanding and Lies”. 

52 years old Dr Ayaba Cho Lucas, a Cameroonian by birth, hails from Mankon, Mezam Division in the Northwest Region of the country. As a youth, Ayaba Cho was Secretary of the Southern Cameroons Youth League, SCYL, which had as President, Akwanga Ebenezer. Both Akwanga and Ayaba were dismissed from the University of Buea in the days of Dorothy Njeuma, because of their political activism, which was geared towards secession.

Ayaba Cho, who is said to have a German nationality, has been living in Oslo, Kingdom of Norway, for many years now, following permission that was granted to him by that Kingdom.  As regards Ayaba Cho’s status as a separatist leader in the long escalated Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon, he has been the leader of the armed group known as Ambazonia Defense Forces, ADF, and is also the head of what they call, AGoVC (Ambazonia Governing Council).

Secessionists, or better still separatists, say they are fighting to create an independent homeland call Ambazonia, out of the two Anglophone regions in the Republic of Cameroon.  But as one of the over a dozen separatist leaders, Ayaba Cho has unfortunately become notorious for callously initiating or backing very  irrational, very vicious, very controversial, in short very inhumane measures, against the same Anglophone civilian population he claims he wants out to liberate.

Incitement To Crimes Against Humanity

After his arrest in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, on September 25, 2024,, secessionist leader, Ayaba Cho Lucas, was taken to the Oslo District Court where the prosecution in the matter charged him for: INCITEMENT TO CRIMES AGAINST HUMANTIY COMMITTED IN CAMEROON. He is being charged for incitement to crimes against humanity, and not directly for crimes against humanity, because he is not on the ground in the ongoing conflict in the two Anglophone Regions. But he has been the commander of the ADF as he has repeatedly declared himself, and so takes responsibility for the several atrocious acts committed by the fighters on the ground. He also of course takes responsibility  for the several controversial declarations he made, as well as condemnable decisions he arrogantly, and even a times boastfully, took responsibility for.

The charge of Incitement to Crimes against Humanity, is said to be related to Ayaba Cho’s allege role in atrocities committed by the ADF under his command, in the ongoing escalated Anglophone Crisis in the Northwest and Southwest Regions in Cameroon, especially the torture, kidnapping for ransoms and killing of civilians like the public execution of two civilians in Guzang last year, as well as for acts destruction, especially arson.  This is the Ayaba Cho Affair.

Thus contrary to what some spin doctors have been trying to say, the Norwegian judicial authorities have not arrested and put on trial Ayaba Cho, because there is an armed conflict in the two Anglophone Regions in Cameroon between Government troops and separatist fighter, or because of the ADF’s involvement in the armed conflict. Rather the Norwegian judicial authorities have arrested Ayaba Cho who has been living in the country for many years, to face trial for allege atrocities committed by the ADF which he commands, against the civilian population in the Anglophone Regions in Cameroon.  As the Chief Prosecutor in the case, Anette Berger, said, Norway wants to ensure that it is not a safe haven for individuals committing war crimes or crimes against humanity.

As we see with other wars across world like the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine or the conflict between Israel and Hamas, what the International Criminal Court, ICC, considers or defines as crimes against humanity is not the wars or conflicts, or the fights between armed groups, but rather the atrocities being committed against the civilian population.

Ayaba Cho Rejects Charges

Meanwhile reports say after Ayaba Cho was arrested on that September 25 by the police in Oslo, Norway and taken to   a District Court in the city, there was a brief hearing in the matter, during which the prosecution laid out the charge against him. But Ayaba Cho’s lawyer was quoted to have said that his client strongly denied the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity leveled against him. The ADF Commander was quoted by his lawyer to have said that “the entire case is being built around Misinformation, Misunderstanding and Lies”.

Who Is Behind The Arrest Of Ayaba Cho?

Following the arrest of the ADF leader, Ayaba Cho, there have been lots of contradictory reports, speculations, confusion and unanswered questions. There has for example, been the question as to who filed the case or launched the complaint of crimes against humanity, that finally led to the arrest of the separatist leader, Ayaba Cho.  So far the Cameroon Government has not made a statement on the arrest.  But it looks  like credit for Ayaba Cho’s arrest has  to be given to the US based Cameroonian born lawyer, Emmanuel Nsahlai, who is the lawyer of some victims of atrocities commitment in the two Anglophone Regions in Cameroon, by armed separatist groups. Ironically, separatists in the Diaspora have always dismissed Nsahlai as nobody.

Many journalists still remember the press conference that Barrister Emmanuel Nsahlai granted in Yaounde not long ago, with some victims of the atrocities committed against civilians by separatist groups, especially the ADF. There is also this letter on alleged atrocities committed by ADF under the directive of its commander, Ayaba Cho, against the civilian population in the ongoing crisis in the two Anglophone Regions. Barrister Nsahlai addressed the letter to the Prime Minister of Norway on June 25, 2024.  Barrister Nsahlai also filed a complaint with the judiciary in Norway against Ayaba Cho, and even confidently declared then, as was seen on social media, that Ayaba Cho would soon be arrested to face trial for his alleged crimes. It has come to pass.

Christian Groups In Cameroon And Norway

There are also a number of other factors that contributed to make the Norwegian authorities to have Ayaba Cho arrested and put on trial for Incitement to Crimes against Humanity. There are some Christian groups in Cameroon that have reportedly been relating with some Christian groups in Norway, and along the line repeatedly raised the issue of Ayaba Cho to their Norwegians brothers and sisters – Christ, who on their part tried to raise it with the authorities.

It should be noted that Norwegian public opinion matters a lot to the democratic government in Norway. Unfortunately the people of Norway in general, have over the years known very little about Cameroon. For one thing, Cameroon and Norway do not have high level diplomatic relations, and the two countries do not relate much. So in Norway, the population in general knew very little or nothing about the happenings in Cameroon.

Norwegian Journalists Visit Cameroon

But the visit to Cameroon of a group of Norwegian journalists, greatly helped to draw the attention of Norwegians to the situation in Cameroon, precisely on the ongoing conflict in the two Anglophone regions, and the atrocities being committed by armed groups, especially the ADF under the command of Ayaba Cho, based in Norway. The Norwegian journalists as part of their visit to Cameroon, visited the Northwest and Southwest Regions, and interviewed many victims of the atrocities allegedly committed by armed separatist groups.

The journalists also talked to some religious authorities, administrative authorities, Christian groups and ordinary citizens in the two Anglophone regions. In all the interviews and findings carried out by the journalists, ADF and its leader, Ayaba Cho, were the most indicted for the alleged atrocities being committed by armed separatist groups against civilians in the two Anglophone Regions.

A few weeks ago, The Mentor came across a foreign post on the social media, in which it was stated that for the first time Norwegians were watching on their local TV channels, atrocities committed against civilians in the conflict in the two Anglophone Regions f Cameroon.  Norwegians were the more shocked to hear that the commander of the most violent separatist group against the civilian population, was living in their own country.

So the work that was done by the group of Norwegian journalists, that visited Cameroon, greatly helped to create awareness in Norway, on the horrible things that were happening to innocent civilians in the two Anglophone Regions in Cameroon, as regard the armed conflict. Thanks to the trip to Cameroon, Norwegians journalists themselves had come to know the horrible situation in the Anglophone Regions due to the crisis, especially in Bamenda, Northwest Region.

As the Prosecutor of the Ayaba Cho Affair, Anette Berger (Police Attorney at Kripos), was quoted to have remarked, it is the first time ever that somebody in Norway has been charged for Incitement to Crimes against Humanity. Things have definitely become less complicated for the Norwegian authorities to take up this issue, following the awareness of the journalists and population of Norway, on the situation in the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon. It would definitely have been much complicated for the Norwegian authorities, to arrest Ayaba Cho and then the local media start crying scandal, presenting him as freedom fighter and all what not.

Pre-trial Detention

From the way things stand, Ayaba Cho will stand trial in Norway on the charge of Incitement to Crimes Against Humanity. As aforementioned, he has pleaded not guilty to the charge. It is reported that after the brief hearing in the Oslo District Court on the day he was arrested, prosecution demanded that Ayaba Cho be kept in detention until the outcome of the trial, and that the court granted the demand.  And so Ayaba Cho has been placed on pre-trial detention in Norway. This shows how serious the case is.

So in conclusion, it should be noted that the case against Ayaba Cho is not about the Anglophone Problem, or what led to the Anglophone Crisis and its escalation, or what happened in 1961 or even before Christ (BC), as some spin doctors are trying to mislead the public into thinking. That is not the concern of the Oslo Court in the case. The concern of the court is crimes against humanity allegedly committed in the Republic of Cameroon by the ADF, whose commander is Ayaba Cho, a resident of Norway.