The Governor of the North West region has
announced a new rehabilitation plan for non-state armed groups currently
fighting against the state defense forces in the region.
Governor Lele L’Afrique
Adolph Tchoffo Deben was speaking in Bamenda Friday September 14 during a press
briefing. According to the regional administrator, his press briefing was
motivated by “the growing acts of killing, kidnapping for ransom, looting of
property destruction of personal documents, and generalised vandalism
perpetrated against pupils, students, teachers, innocent civilian masses and
the Defense and Security Force, accompanied by threats from secessionist
activists promising to ground socioeconomic activities and hinder the
circulation of persons within, into and out of the Region in the days ahead.” |
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NW Governor Adolph Lele L'Afrique Tchoffo
Deben
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Following instructions from the Head of
State, the Governor assured the population that “Government has taken
appropriate measures….. to guarantee the collective safety and the security of
the movements and activities of the inhabitants of our Region through to the
end of year festivities and stop the troublemakers.”
He further detailed that “during regular search operations conducted in the various check points on the persons coming into and going out of the Region, some of them were found in possession of short guns, cartridges, locally fabricated explosives, drugs and other compromising objects leaving us with the impression that activists are trying to increase violence here or extend beyond our region.”
Predicated on this, the regional chief executive announced that “movements of persons and goods shall be henceforth subjected to strict (but highly professional) controls in conformity with Section two (2) of Law No 90/54 of 19.12.1990) on the maintenance of Law and Order.”
This decision he noted will be implemented with the assistance of “Administrative authorities, Security and Defense forces and managers of commercial transportation agencies” that shall be responsible for the strict execution of the security measures. Private individuals he added “commercial vehicles or motor bikes that stall be caught In the act of transporting terrorists or compromising materials and those facilitating such transactions shall simply be assimilated as terrorists themselves and treated as such.”
While calling for all to convince those in the bushes to come out and regain normal life, those in the diaspora to desist from manipulating the population and sponsoring socio-economic hardship and illiteracy to redirect their hard earned resources to socio-economic development and education, Governor Lele Adolph called on those “who have been misled and misguided to take up arms against the fatherland…… to surrender their weapons to the nearest Administrative, Traditional, Municipal or Religious authorities and as a follow up, they will be entitled to psychological and logistical support for their eventual rehabilitation and reintegration into society.”
On like previous calls from other top
government functionaries that have directed those ready to surrender to
take their weapons to the nearest
security post, the Governor’s call has been seen as a new impetus to the
disarming process considering the fact that members the non-state armed groups
may be comfortable with their traditional, municipal or religious authorities.
Other opinions have however rolled this possibility out since those in these
groups have also been victims of the activities of the non-state armed groups
like kidnappings.
The regional head ended his briefing with a clarion call and reassurance to the general population of their security and safety while asking “the civil servants to go to their respective work places, the teachers and pupils to be in school and business people to go about their economic activities in all calm and serenity as the Administration as a good father is watching over them.”
The regional head ended his briefing with a clarion call and reassurance to the general population of their security and safety while asking “the civil servants to go to their respective work places, the teachers and pupils to be in school and business people to go about their economic activities in all calm and serenity as the Administration as a good father is watching over them.”
“In my capacity as depository of State Authority In the Region, permit me to call on all the inhabitants of the North-West to remain the peace loving, law abiding and above all the God fearing citizens that you have always been during the past months of socio-political and security turmoil and not to listen to those who are trying to demobilize and displace you. I further appeal for a generalised manifestation of restraint and civic responsibility and do count fervently on the high sense of discernment and love for the Cameroon Nation, characteristic of the inhabitants of the North-West Region.